Back to Understand and Develop Your ESP

Chapter Four

EXERCISES FOR DEVELOPING PSYCHIC ABILITY

In previous sections of this booklet we have examined the theory of psychic ability and suggested specific attunement aids that may facilitate ESP. In this final section we will explore six training exercises that may prove useful in enhancing psychic development. Some of the activities will undoubtedly fit your individual nature better than others, but for the fullest exploration of your psychic potential you should try each of them at least once.

Since some of the exercises are to be applied for a number of days (like the first one, which is recommended for a 20-day period), you may wish to work on more than one of them during those times; there is no reason why you shouldn't do so. Some of the procedures can be completed in just a few minutes, but you may find that you get results only after several days of trying.

We suggest that you approach these exercises with a sense of openness and exploration. Please try to let go of expectations that might block the development of your potential. In addition, try to keep a sense of excitement and playfulness, rather than becoming overly serious about the various ESP tests. Research has shown that for most people, ESP comes through more effectively when the test has a game-like format, instead of a dry, laboratory one. This is not to say that the ESP tasks lack meaning. Simply try to keep in mind that even the most important task can be done with a feeling of excitement and playful exploration.

It is probable that not all of the exercises will work for all people, simply because we are unique individuals and no single technique fits everyone. These six exercises are not the only ways to experience psychic development. They are, however, specific approaches based on the readings that might work for you, especially if they are coupled with the attunement aids presented in the previous section.

For each exercise you will find (a) a description of the principles involved, (b) instructions concerning how to do the activity, and (c) a suggested way of testing the exercise to see if it works for you. (You may find it helpful to make a record of your experiences with each of these six exercises.)

1. Partnership exercise.

This is a specific technique for developing telepathy. It involves choosing one person who is willing to work with you for 20 days.The two of you will need to agree upon a time of day when you can work on this exercise for five to ten minutes; ideally it would be at the same time each day, but if your schedules do not permit this, it is all right to vary the time. An important factor is to do the exercise each day during the 20-day period. The procedure is described in the following reading:

Q-6. Give . . . the principle and technique of conscious telepathy.

A-6. The consciousness of His abiding presence. For, He is all power, all thought, the answer to every question. For, as these attune more and more to the awareness of His presence, the desire to know of those influences that may be revealed causes the awareness to become materially practical. First, begin between selves. Set a definite time, and each at that moment put down what the other is doing. Do this for twenty days. And ye will find ye have the key to telepathy. 2533-7

One important question about this technique concerns the meaning of the words "what the other is doing." For the purposes of this training exercise we suggest that this phrase be given a broad interpretation, one that can include: (a) what the person has physically been doing just before the time for telepathically tuning in (e.g., I sense that my partner was recently talking on the phone to a relative), (b) how the person is feeling physically (e.g., I sense that my partner has a mild headache), (c) how the person is feeling emotionally (e.g., I have the impression that my partner is angry at someone), (d) what the person has been thinking about (e.g., I have the impression that my partner is thinking about financial pressures he currently faces), and/ or (e) what the person has been planning for the rest of the day or for the future (e.g., I sense that my partner is planning on going out to dinner tonight).

You will want to choose as your partner a person whom you are not likely to be near for at least a few hours before the agreed-upon time of day. If you have spent a couple of hours listening and talking to your partner just before you try to tune in psychically, most of your impressions will be not ESP, but simply memories of what you've just seen or heard. It's fine to choose a family member as a partner, but if you do this, select a time of day when you are usually apart.

For example, if one of you has a job away from the house, you might try to select a five-minute period while you are apart because of this. If you choose a partner who is not a family member, it should be easy to meet the requirement of having been separated for several hours before doing this exercise. In the event that you and your chosen partner are rarely away from each other physically, let your time of day be immediately upon arising in the morning, before any verbal communications have occurred. In this case you might especially try to tune in to the dream experiences your partner has just had.

In working on this exercise for the five or ten minutes daily, it is not necessary to differentiate the moments when you are the sender and your partner is the receiver from those when your partner is the sender. You can both receive from each other simultaneously. As you do this exercise, jot down the images you have picked up. Some time after the tuning-in period each day, share your impressions with each other in person or by phone.

The sharing does not have to be done immediately following the exercise. This feedback process may be very helpful in learning to distinguish accurate psychic impressions from images that arise simply out of your own imagination. It would probably be worth while for you to record significant instances in which you seem to have telepathically communicated, along with any specific principles you discover about your own telepathic abilities (for example, "I am more likely to accurately pick up physical ailments of my partner," or "I tend to be more telepathic on days when I've just had a good night's sleep").

2. Sleep suggestion.

Perhaps the most direct and safest avenue to universal awareness is through dreams. Of course, not all dreams contain verifiable ESP; nor do all dreams come from universal awareness. In the following two passages are some recommendations on how we might facilitate dream experiences that are psychic in nature.

Whether the body desires or not, in sleep the consciousness physically is laid aside. As to what will be that it will seek, depends upon what has been builded as that it would associate itself with, physically, mentally, spiritually, and the closer the association in the mental mind in the physical forces, in the physical attributes, are with spiritual elements, then- as has been seen by even those attempting to produce a certain character of vision or dream-these follow much in that; for another law that is universal becomes active! Like begets like! 5754-3

Q-18. What is the difference in suggestion to the subconscious mind and the conscious mind?

A-18. Suggestion to the conscious mind only brings to the mental plane those forces that are of the same character and the conscious is the suggestion in action. In that of suggestion to the subconscious mind, it gives its reflection or reaction from the universal forces or mind or superconscious forces. 3744-2

The first passage states the general principle that in the dream state we are attracted to experiences that correspond to what we have built with the mind. In the second passage the technique of suggestion is specifically referred to, and we are told that suggestions directed to the subconscious mind, such as those we might make to our own subconscious as we fall asleep, can evoke a response from the universal mind, or the superconscious.

There is in the readings a large amount of information on suggestive therapeutics -that is, one individual giving suggestion to another in order to help that person with physical, mental or emotional problems. The majority of these cases recommend presleep suggestion (especially for children), indicating that the. period of time in which a person is falling asleep is especially conducive to suggestive influences.

This principle can be used to facilitate psychic development. As you begin to feel yourself drifting off towards sleep, repeat several times in your mind a suggestion that you have written beforehand.

The suggestion should affirm that you will be guided by universal awareness; also, it should refer to the specific area in which you would like to receive psychic guidance. For example, suppose you want to know what is really at the root of Mrs. Smith's irritating behavior and what you could do to help her. Your suggestion upon falling asleep might be: "I will be guided by God's wisdom to understand Mrs. Smith and how I can aid her." The response you receive may come through a dream, or it could be a hunch or impression you have upon awakening.

It may come as telepathy (e.g., becoming aware of something troubling Mrs. Smith that she has been afraid to verbalize), clairvoyance (e.g., perception of a physical problem that Mrs. Smith isn't aware of), or precognition (e.g., an impression of a likely future event in which you will have a special opportunity to help her). It might take several nights of working with this approach before you get results. In addition, the degree of one's sincerity and enthusiasm is likely to have an important effect on how well this technique works.

Try at least two ways of working with this exercise. First, use an inanimate object as a target. Ask a friend to cut out a picture from a magazine and place it in an envelope. There should not be another picture on the back of the one used, as this may confound the experiment. Make sure you don't have any clues about the contents of the envelope-such as knowing what magazine the picture came from. Put the envelope under your pillow or elsewhere in your bedroom.

As you fall asleep at night, repeat a suggestion to yourself which will stimulate your psychic perception. This should be written beforehand and be in your own words. An example would be: "I will be able to tap universal awareness and discover the contents of the envelope." Based upon dreams that you recall or intuitive impressions that you have upon awakening, make a guess as to what is shown in the target picture; then open the envelope and check what the picture actually shows. You may want to try this for several nights, using different target pictures.

This exercise can also be used in relation to another person or a real-life situation. This should not be done just for curiosity's sake. The target should be a person or situation for which you have genuine concern and a willingness to work sincerely with whatever psychic information you may receive. Many people feel that there is a self-protective mechanism within themselves that blocks a psychic impression if they are not really ready to use the information that is potentially available. Most likely, the technique of sleep suggestion alone will not produce accurate psychic information; it must be coupled with sincerity and a willingness to help.

To apply sleep suggestion to a real-life situation, you would write a suggestion, such as "I call upon the Creative Forces to show me how I can best understand Bill,, "' and repeat it to yourself as you are falling asleep. It's a good idea to keep a record of the dreams or impressions that come as a result of this exercise. If you feel that you have received an accurate psychic impression, try to apply it in some specific way. For example, if you have a dream about Bill that seems to indicate that he is troubled by feelings of guilt, make a special effort to let him know you appreciate and accept him.

In most cases, it would probably not be best to ask him, "Are you feeling guilty about something, because I had a dream about you to that effect?"' What we are looking for is psychic information that will help us change our attitudes and ways of acting so as to bring greater healing. Be sensitive to the precise nature of the situation you choose to work with, because sometimes it will be helpful to share the exact dream or impression with the other person, and sometimes, it won't be; therefore, sharing the dream is not a required part of the exercise.

We recommend that you write a summary of your experiences with both ways of applying sleep suggestion.

3. Hypnogogic state.

There is a second exercise by which we can make use of the transitional stage between waking and sleeping to tap our psychic potential. In the previous activity we used suggestion in the transitional period to increase the likelihood that during sleep we would have access to psychic material. Now we will explore the possibility of actually receiving psychic impressions during those transitions. In the following passages the readings refer to psychic experiences that can come during such periods.

Q-6. What causes the sinking sensation as I drop asleep, causing me to waken suddenly?

A-6. A development of the intuitive influences in the experience of the body. Do not be disturbed at these. Rather open the door, or allow self to drift away in same. Without fear! for you'll learn a lot for yourself through these! 306-2

Q-2. What caused the dark cloud like a toll of black smoke that seemed to envelope me as a child while in bed at night?

A-2. The sensitiveness of the child in that period of its transition. This should have been cultivated. Do not begin such in the present, except from the angle of prayer and meditation. 4006-1

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It would be well to heed the warning given in the second passage above. We should be working with prayer and meditation daily if we choose to explore psychic experiences in the transitional period. Such a discipline makes it more likely that the experiences which come will be helpful and constructive.

There are, of course, two transitional periods. The movement from waking to sleeping is called the hypnogogic state; the one from sleeping to waking is called the hypnopompic state (although in recent times it has become common to refer to both periods as "hypnogogic"). In this exercise we will focus upon the latter.

Our effort will be to pay careful attention to impressions or feelings that come just as we are beginning to awaken. This can be done by lying in bed a few extra minutes in the morning, allowing the mind to wander and perhaps produce dream-like images. Occasionally you may even seem to drift back to sleep or to a state in which apparently irrational thoughts and ideas arise. By taking time to attend to this special state of consciousness, you may be able to receive accurate psychic impressions.

You can test this state using the same methods you did for sleep suggestion. An unknown picture in an envelope makes a good target to work with at first. If you wish to try this experiment with an actual person as the target, follow the same guidelines as before regarding your sincerity of purpose. You can choose the same individual as before, or select a different person.

You may want to try the following procedure, which some people have found to be a helpful tool in exploring the hypnogogic state. As you are awakening in the morning, lie on your back and place one of your elbows on the bed next to your waist. Bending your arm at the elbow, extend your forearm upward and hold it in a vertical position.

Keep it in this position and allow yourself to drift back into the hypnogogic state. If you start to fall asleep, your arm will fall from the vertical position onto your stomach and awaken you. At that point it is to be hoped that you will be able to recall what was going through your mind just before you were re-awakened.

Once again, you may find it helpful to write a summary of your experiences with this exercise using the hypnogogic state.

4. Repetition of a physical task.

Recall that in constructing our model of the mechanism of psychic ability we saw that the readings give the sensory system a central role in the recognition of psychic guidance. In order to perceive psychic information,, one of the things that we must do is to allow subjective, inner impressions to come into conscious awareness. We have seen that stimuli from the physical environment often override these inner impressions. This process is illustrated below.

In a later exercise we will work with a procedure to try to cut off environmental stimuli. However, another effective approach may be to make the environmental stimuli as repetitive as possible. Perceptual psychology has found that the conscious mind turns its attention to that which is unusual. For example, if you enter someone's home where there is a grandfather clock, you will probably notice the ticking sound because this is such a novel stimulus. After a few minutes, however,, it is unlikely that you will consciously notice the ticking any longer, because the conscious mind tends to tune out that which is repetitive.

It is difficult to determine a repetitive procedure that will work for everyone. However, there seem to be at least two important features that should be included. First, the task should be one that involves some degree of physical repetition; the dances of the Sufl whirling dervishes might be an example of this, since these repetitive movements are used to facilitate paranormal experiences.

The task should also involve repetition for the intellectual mind,, leaving the more creative,, intuitive functions of the mind free to receive psychic impressions. An example of this would be doing a series of arithmetic problems,, which, though it is not an especially creative activity, does occupy the rational mind. You may wish to experiment with procedures you think of which include one or both of these features.

One possible exercise using the mind's tendency to tune out monotonous stimuli is an experiment in telepathy that involves you, as receiver, doing a specific repetitive task. Select another person to be the sender for this experiment,, and decide what you will use as targets. Among the possibilities are: a deck of playing cards, with which you can try to send and receive the suit or just the color of individual cards; pictures cut out of magazines; and single-digit numbers chosen at random from a phone book (you might use, for example, the last digit of the first entry on randomly selected pages).

As the receiver, your part of the exercise is to perform the following repetitive task while your partner is concentrating on the target. You are to use the spiral pattern which you will find on the following page of this booklet. Place the tip of your index finger on the point marked "start," and then with your finger trace the pathway inward along the spiral. Make sure that your finger stays within the pathway and does not cross over a line.

Follow the pathway to the center point, marked with an "X." When you reach the center, do not pick up your finger, but immediately start to trace back outward along the spiral to the original starting point. Upon reaching the starting point, repeat this process and continue to do so. This task will take concentration. When you feel fully into the repetitive procedure of tracing the spiral (it will probably take at least 30 seconds for you to get fully into concentrating on it), momentarily turn your attention to subjective impressions that may come into your mind.

Such an impression might be a hunch, a flash, or just a guess that feels as though it has come from something other than your analytical mind. If you don't get anything right away, go back to the tracing and try again. When you have determined your response write it down, and then check with your partner to see if you were right. Attempt several trials with this procedure -between 10 and 25 guesses would be a good number-with a different specific target being used for each new trial. If you are making records of these experiments, you should include (a) the type of targets used, (b) the number of guesses made, and (c) the number of correct responses.

5. Sensory deprivation.

Another approach to facilitating our access to possibly psychic inner impressions involves cutting off environmental stimuli. This process is referred to in the following passage:

Each will find a variation according to the application and the abilities of each to become less and less controlled by personality, and the more and more able to shut away the material consciousness -or the mind portion that is of the material, propagated or implied by what is termed the five senses. The more and more each is impelled by that which is intuitive, or the relying upon the soul force within, the greater, the farther, the deeper, the broader, the more constructive may be the result. 792-2

In your own home you probably do not have the facilities to eliminate environmental stimuli completely, but a state of sensory deprivation can be approximated. Cutting out sight and sound is perhaps the most important factor, since our active, conscious minds are largely the product of what we see and hear. The senses of taste and smell are not as developed in humans as in some other animals.

The sense of touch, which includes receptors for pressure and temperature, can be largely quieted by lying in a comfortable position in a room with a temperature of around 72 degrees and no wind nor drafts. Considering the living situations of most people, the best time to cut out sights and sounds would probably be between 2:00 and 4:30 A.M. At that time of night it is easiest to find a completely darkened room with a minimal amount of environmental noise.

Even if you are not used to being up at this hour, it might well be worthwhile for you to try this exercise at least once. Get to bed early, so that you will be reasonably well rested, and use whatever means is best for you to awaken during this period of the night. Find a room or large closet where (a) you can lie down comfortably, (b) you will be exposed to as little light as possible, and (c) as much sound as possible, including the ticking clocks, can be eliminated. You will then be ready to make guesses concerning the nature of target pictures you have previously obtained.

Just as you did in a preceding exercise, ask a friend to cut out some pictures from magazines and place them in individual envelopes. Make sure you are given no clues as to the nature of the pictures. For this exercise five envelopes should be enough. At night, in your state of sensory deprivation, try to guess the contents of each envelope one by one. Hold one envelope in your hands and allow random thoughts or impressions to enter your mind.

Continue to do this until you feel that you have received an accurate hunch about the envelope's contents, or until the flow of your impressions creates some kind of recurrent pattern or theme. Then turn on a flashlight and jot down on the envelope your impressions or a specific guess as to the nature of the picture. You may go through all five pictures before opening the envelopes, or you may open each one immediately upon writing down your impressions.

It is suggested that you record a brief description of each target picture and the impressions you wrote down on the envelope. Indicate those that you feel may show some ESP on your part.

6. Decision making.

One of the most significant aspects of psychic ability is that it can help us to make decisions in life. There is, however, no foolproof procedure for obtaining accurate guidance from within. The accuracy of impressions concerning choices in life depends on many factors,, such as the degree of one's. attunement to universal awareness. Even the soundest technique for receiving psychic guidance will fail if this kind of attunement is missing.

One approach to obtaining direction for life choices is through dreams; we must,, however, be careful not to rely solely upon dreams in making decisions. Some dreams can, in fact,, be simply wish fulfillment. In the following reading an individual is warned against becoming overly dependent on dreams, especially in times when there is confusion or imbalance in the area of ideals and purposes.

One that has those abilities of vision, especially in dreams. These portend oft to happenings. These are well to consider; yet do not depend too much upon them, unless self is balanced well in its ideal and in its purpose. 3175-1

Dreams do play a role in a more extensive procedure for making decisions. This process, described in many readings, features the use of conscious choice and the turning within for a confirmation or denial of that choice. In the following passage, psychic or intuitive development is linked to this kind of decision making.

Q-11. Give detailed directions for developing the intuitive sense.

A- 11. Trust more and more upon that which may be from within. Or, this is a very common-but a very definite -manner to develop: On any question that arises, ask the mental self-get the answer, yes or no. Rest on that. Do not act immediately (if you would develop the intuitive influences). Then, in meditation or prayer, when looking within self, ask - is this yes or no? The answer is intuitive development. On the same question, to be sure, see? 282-4

Here's a more detailed outline of the steps in a decision-making procedure that, by helping you learn how to get guidance from universal awareness, can stimulate increased psychic development:

1. Set your spiritual ideal. You have already been instructed how to do this in a previous part of this booklet.

2. Pose a question-one that can be answered yes or no concerning some decision you must make. In working on this exercise, you may choose a simple question or problem that you are currently facing in life, or you may choose one that is of profound significance to you. Whatever problem you decide to work on, write out a question that describes a current decision you are faced with.

Be sure to phrase it so that it can be answered by a yes or a no. For example, the question "Should I go back to college?" is much easier to work with than "What should I do now that I have a lot of free time?" would be. The latter is too open-ended and avoids a consciously made choice. Part of our growth in consciousness as souls involves learning how to make decisions properly that are in accord with divine will.

3. Tentatively make a conscious yes-or-no decision in answer to the question you have just posed; in doing this, take into consideration all the information you consciously have access to. Be sure that your tentative decision is one you would be willing to carry out.

4. Measure the tentative decision by your spiritual ideal. Ask yourself, "Could I follow through on my decision and still be true to my spiritual ideal?" If the answer is Yes, you could be true to your ideal, go on to step 5; if it is No. go back to step 3 and try the opposite tentative decision. Occasionally a person finds that neither a decision of Yes nor one of No will allow him to remain true to his spiritual ideal. In that case, the person is not really ready to make a decision on the problem, and he should turn to consistent prayer and a deeper analysis of the decision being faced.

5. Meditate-not on the question, but for attunement. With this step we are beginning a process whereby we will seek a confirmation of our conscious decision from within. This confirmation (or denial) is likely to be accurate only to the degree that we have in meditation attuned ourselves to universal awareness. Do not let yourself be tempted into dwelling on the decision during meditation. Put the question aside and have a period of silent focus upon your affirmation.

6. At the end of your meditation, ask the question and listen for a yes-or-no answer from within. This "listening" sometimes elicits a response from an inner voice; at other times, the answer comes as a hunch or an inner impression. Occasionally a person will get nothing at all during this period. In that case, he will want to extend the "listening period" and pay special attention to his dreams.

If this is done, a precognitive dream frequently follows, saying, in effect, "If you follow through on the tentative decision you've made, here are the likely results." One can then consciously judge whether or not the likely consequences are acceptable. If they are not, a change in the decision is called for.

7. Measure the decision by your spiritual ideal. After receiving a confirmation or denial,, either at the end of meditation or by way of a dream, one should once again check to make sure that the latest understanding of the proper choice does not violate the nature of the spiritual ideal.

8. Act on the decision. No form of psychic or intuitive development has much meaning unless we act upon whatever we receive. Be sure to do this in relation to the specific situation on which you have been working with the previous seven steps.

After going through this exercise you may want to repeat each of the steps, especially if the decision you face is an important one. At the end of the procedure, you might wish to record your question, decision and resulting action, as well as your feelings about this exercise.

Conclusion

The reader who has completed both sections of this book will now have surveyed the basic concepts given in the Edgar Cayce readings on psychic ability.

There will have been gained insights into the fundamental principles of how ESP works. In many ways the principles presented here are quite novel to parapsychology. For instance,, the notion that we can understand psi phenomena only by understanding the soul is not generally accepted among parapsychologists. Nor has the concept that there exists a higher-dimensional body to receive psychic impressions have been given general acceptance. The perspective that physical attunement enhances psi is another aspect of the Cayce material that has been adopted by only a few researchers.

And although research has indicated that some of a person's attitudes (for example, one of belief in ESP) may affect psychic sensitivity, little research has been done to test the effects of attitudes such as love and the desire to serve others.

Here is the point at which the Edgar Cayce readings make their most important theoretical contribution to the understanding of how ESP works. Although research has shown ESP to be associated with an extroverted personality, the readings say that it is more than just a reaching out and an involvement with others that enhances psi. It is the quality of that reaching out-a desire to be of loving service-that really makes the difference.

Some readers may not be satisfied with their results in working with this book. Assuming that you have tried applying these concepts and still have not experienced psychic development as quickly or as fully as you expected, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

1. You may not have given yourself enough time. Psychic development usually occurs over a period of months and years. Some initial gains are frequently observed with just a little work, but the development of accurate, dependable ESP is usually a rather slow, step-by-step process. The serious seeker needs patience. To use once again the analogy of musical ability, consider the time and work required to master an instrument such as the piano or the violin.

2. You may not yet be working with the proper purposes. The readings suggest that ESP comes naturally as a result of the desire to genuinely love and serve others. If you are seeking to develop ESP simply for proof of the phenomena or for selfish reasons, you may be blocking access to those levels of the mind that allow psychic experiences to happen.

3. Perhaps you have not yet properly attuned yourself. The integration of body, mind and spirit is necessary to attain psychic impressions consistently from the superconscious mind. Even if you've begun working with the. attunement procedures (such as meditation, dream study and dietary recommendations) referred to in this book, you may have to devote more energy to them over a longer period of time in order for your efforts to begin resulting in psychic experiences.

We should also keep in mind that when psychic ability begins to emerge, it may not come in the way we expect. A person who hopes to start hearing voices in meditation may instead begin to get accurate psychic impressions in dreams. If such a person isn't open to recognize whatever form of ESP comes about, it may seem to him as if no psychic development has taken place.

As a final note, the reader is encouraged to explore psychic development (in its broadest sense, which is soul development) in the context of a Search for God Study Group. These groups are sponsored by the A.R.E. and are without charge to the participant. The Search for God program makes use of a time-tested approach that provides balance, support from others, and a continual refocusing on the ideal of love and service.