Whenever the topic of psychics comes up socially I often hear people confuse ‘being psychic’ with ‘having ESP’ (extra-sensory perception). Yes, psychics do seem to have an extra sensory perception, but being psychic is not about having ESP. For most people the word ESP brings up images of someone who has telepathy, can read minds, is capable of remote viewing and/or is able to predict future events. Again, yes, many psychics can sometimes display such ESP abilities, and again, that is not what ‘being psychic’ is all about.
I apologize if this is confusing to you, but the difference between what is called ESP and being psychic is an important one. Maybe I can best state it this way: ESP is a word that was created by the scientific community to describe an extra sense beyond the five senses. By creating the word ESP, then science can explore this ‘thing’ called ‘extrasensory perception’ – and then dismiss that such a thing as ESP can exist. ESP is largely dismissed by the traditional scientific community because a century or two in the past, science choose to adopt the philosophy that ONLY things that come to us through the five senses can be ‘real’.
Being psychic is a deeply personal experience (and far more often than not a spiritual experience, not a scientific one). Many people think it would be great if they could have ESP and read minds, or remote view, or move objects with their mind. It is all a mental thing and few are not interested if there is any spirituality to these paranormal capabilities. Spirituality does not even enter into having ESP for such folks.
Free ESP Testing
An unfortunate side effect of scientific research into psychic abilities has been the illusion created that there are these special senses and mental abilities floating around ‘out there’ that anyone can have. ‘Being psychic’ is to understand you cannot sperate these special, seemingly paranormal gifts from spirituality. Think of it this way, there is no knife sharp enough to sperate a psychic from their psychic abilities. The two are the same thing. And, almost every psychic will tell you is that the source of their psychic talent (what others call ‘ESP’) is spiritual. Since science does not recognize any such thing as spirituality it is no wonder scientists cannot pin down these so called ESP abilities.
The golden rule of science is that you can only know things through the five material senses: Taste, touch, sound, sight, smell. If you can predict future events (such as the next card drawn from deck) or ‘see’ things taking place in another physical location (remote viewing or out of body travel), or sense the thoughts of another person, then somehow, you are acquiring information, knowledge, outside your immediate five senses. The word ESP caught on with the public when it was adopted by J. B. Rhine from Duke University when he tried to put ‘psychic abilities’ to the test.
J. B. Rhine was one of the first scientists to test the idea people could have a ‘sixth sense‘ which (by the golden rule of science) should be impossible. The tests for ESP by Rhine were very limited. Mostly asking a subject to predict what card would be displayed from a random selection, or reading the mind of another person who was holding a card the subject could not see. Rhine concluded that there are people who seem to have ESP. There are several free ESP test sites online where you can explore your ESP capability. Rhine would later go on to create the word ‘parapsychology’ and is considered the father of the entire field of parapsychology. Ever a scientist first, Rhine spent his life trying to prove paranormal abilities existed, but never was able to include spirituality as the source or explanation for psychic abilities without stepping out of scientific bounds.
Much of the research in the parapsychology field indicates psychics seem to have ESP, but ESP cannot fully contain what it means to be psychic. To an experienced psychic, a person who explores ESP from a purely scientific perspective is like a person searching tiny black and white photos to find colors. To a psychic, ‘being psychic’ is a life changing experience and not something that can be captured in a laboratory. Psychics can have a wide range of what are called ESP experiences from visions of the future to seeing or hearing spirits to meeting angels. When you or I meet a person we look at them. For some psychics, when they meet a person, they look into and through that person. A gifted psychic might see that person’s future and past and the relationship of that person to others. A psychic might even ‘see’ the spirits who may be guiding that individual.
Where the term ‘ESP’ and ‘paranormal’ are scientific in nature, the word ‘psychic’ is an ancient word with roots in the mythical, spiritual and metaphysical. It is very, very rare to encounter a genuine psychic who is not also deeply spiritual. Within the scientific community there is a theory that ESP can be developed without any spirituality necessary. To a seasoned, professional psychic, the idea you can develop psychic talents without some sort of spiritual grounding is ridiculous, or worse, dangerous. Science is always ‘outside’ the psychic field trying to peak inside ONLY using the material senses. It is as if science lives in a one dimensional world. Psychics, however, feel they live in a three dimensional world … or maybe more. The scientifically minded would say all that psychic stuff is ‘all in their mind’. To which psychics are likely to reply ‘that is true for everyone, isn’t it?’. One of the root meanings of the word ‘psychic’ is ‘mind’.
Hopefully, you begin to see my reasons for not using the term ‘ESP and ‘psychic’ interchangeably. One term refers to a few scientifically explored ‘abilities’. The other term refers to a spiritual ‘gift’ that has a history far older than science. Those technically a psychic seems to have ESP, what is called ESP can never fully contain what it means to be psychic.
If you are interested in talking to a psychic, may I recommend Psychic Ricky, whom I found to be a terrific spirit medium, and who is very easy to talk with. Also, I found Psychic Arthur to be excellent. He has been a psychic advisor to celebrities, a life coach and is great at answering questions about psychic talents and abilities. If you are looking for some courses on developing psychic and/or ESP abilities check out psychic courses. A good general introduction to psychic abilities and ESP without too much of the mystical elements is the Be Psychic Course.
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