Demystifying "psychic"

     One of the most common questions people ask when they first meet someone is “What do you do?” For me those conversations usually go something like this:

            “So what do you do?”

            “I’m a shamanic healer.”

            Pause.

            “Oh.”

     The meaning of “oh” varies according to the length of the pause and the tone of voice. It usually conveys disbelief, curiosity, recognition or awe. Curiosity and recognition are fun. They can lead to some great conversations.

    The disbelief/incredulous “oh” usually follows an awkward pause. Two minutes ago I seemed like an intelligent, rational woman. Now I’ve become something else. No one reasonable believes in that “woo-woo” stuff so I must be crazy or full of crap.

   I am most uncomfortable with the awe filled “oh.” With that one little word, I’ve gone from being just another person to being mysterious, extra spiritual and maybe a little intimidating. I’m not any of those things.  I don’t want to be anybody’s guru. I’m not magic. I’m not an oracle. I’m just me. A question that often accompanies this “oh” is whether or not I’m psychic. My standard reply is, “Yes and so are you.”

    The meaning of the word psychic has been obscured by overuse, miss use and projections fueled by misunderstanding. Many people associate psychic with fortune telling and the ability to see the future. A person who can see future possibilities is a clairvoyant. Clairvoyants are a type of psychic, the same way your bicep is a type of muscle.

    Dictionary.com defines psychic as:       

            1. of or pertaining to the human soul or mind; mental (opposed to physical ).

2. Psychology . pertaining to or noting mental phenomena.

3. outside of natural or scientific knowledge; spiritual.

4. of or pertaining to some apparently nonphysical force or agency: psychic research; psychic 

    phenomena.

5. sensitive to influences or forces of a nonphysical or supernatural nature.

     Nothing in those five definitions is mysterious or applicable only to certain people. We interact with nonphysical forces every day. To varying degrees, we are sensitive to those forces. The most basic example of a nonphysical force is emotion. Our sensitivity to our own feelings and the emotions of others is the basis of our capacity for compassion.

    We’re all born with both physical and non-physical senses. We all have intuition. Being psychic is as much as part of being human as being able to smell bread baking, hear music or see the color blue. As with any other innate ability, people’s gifts vary in degree and the way they manifest. However, intuition and being psychic is not some mysterious thing that only certain people have.

     The most basic way we experience our intuition is through gut feelings. This experience is so common the U.S. military has dubbed it the “spidey sense.” The U.S. Office of Naval Research is interested in learning more about both how it works and how it can be taught to soldiers.

     Gut feelings can be difficult for you to identify if you have a strong bias toward being logical and/or rational. Your brain responds to the gut feeling before you are even aware of what you're feeling and leaps in to logically substantiate the intuitive nudge. By the time you take action, you’re sure you've made a decision based solely on logic and reason.

     We live in the information age. Many of us are raised in societies enamored with technology and the scientific method. We are largely socialized and educated to believe the proof of whether or not something is “real” lies in the scientific method.

    The predisposition toward logic, science and technology influences how we’re educated. In school we’re taught to identify colors, what sound a cow makes and how to read. We’re not taught about non-physical senses, gut feelings or intuition. Few of us learn that at home either.

    In school we’re also taught the basics of math and science. Although most of us don’t really understand how a nuclear reactor works, we know enough of the basics to see it as technology and not magic. However, without any basic understanding of intuition and non-physical senses those things do seem like magic….and magic isn’t real.

     There is also a degree of normalization that occurs when something is talked about enough to become common knowledge. The existence of healers, mediums and other types of psychics is common knowledge. But what that means and how those people work is not. We as human beings have a long history of reacting with fear, suspicion or awe when confronted with something we don’t understand.

    I’ve often found when people react that way to finding out what I do they’re responding to a societal bias and/or the way mass media portrays psychics rather than any actual experience. The popularity of television shows like Ghosthunters and Ghost Adventures hasn’t helped any. The fear based reactions of the ghost hunters only serve to reinforce the belief that this piece of unknown is either a hoax or something to be feared and revered.

   If you’re interested in a realistic portrayal of a psychic, watch some reruns of Medium. You’ll see the way Allison’s intuition works. You’ll also see her struggle with raising children, running out of milk and being late for work. Sound familiar? Yep, she does the same stuff we all do.

    There are healers who employ theatrics to reinforce the belief that what they do is mysterious and beyond the realm of normal people. Neither I, nor the healers I count as friends and colleagues see it that way. The being mysterious and beyond normal people is a belief that’s projected on to us. It’s not one we internalize or intentionally foster.  

    I can’t take any credit for my gifts, my curly hair or being able to draw. It’s just what I was born with.  While many people experience their intuition as a gut feeling they can either acknowledge or ignore, mine was more persistent. From age five on, my experience was more like a musician who can’t stop hearing the music in her head. None of my gifts came with an instruction manual. Unlike the musician, there wasn’t anyone I could go to for lessons on how to use my gifts. I made the choice to listen to my intuition. The more I was willing to listen and follow, the stronger my intuition spoke. The rest was, and still is,  a ton of trial and error. The Universe blessed me with people who could help me figure things out and teach me to ask the right questions.

    I’m good at what I do, not because I’m magic but because I practice. I work at it, the same way a musician practices her instrument. If I’d been born with a feel for wood, I might have become a carpenter. I work as a healer because that’s what I was given.

   The ability to see others more clearly than we see ourselves is part of being human. Working as a healer doesn’t make that different. I rarely get previews for my own life. I'm often surprised by things. I still put on my jeans on leg at time and forget when I put my cell phone.