How It Works For Me (Metaphysically Speaking, That Is)

In addition to my life experiences, education, and professional background, which I use to guide my personal interpretations, I have a unique combination of metaphysical gifts that allows me to tap into the spiritual realm in order to receive and decipher information, inspirations, higher knowledge, or wisdom from a divine universal source. These gifts are essential to my practice and my ability to be of service to others. 

Claircognizance (aka “Clear Knowing” or Intuition)

I am often asked to describe how I receive the information I work with, and my reply always is, “I just know stuff.” Not a very sexy answer, metaphysically speaking, but true enough for me. 

In her book, “Divine Reason and Rhyme,” Sundae Merrick, a very gifted intuitive and, happily for me, trusted adviser, defines intuition like this: “The immediate knowing of something without the conscious use of reasoning. Intuition allows us to maintain a connection with Creation through observation, listening, or feeling to gain insight.” 

Everyone is born with intuition, although to differing degrees. I happen to be one of those people who is extremely gifted with the ability to access my intuition, which is fundamental to my ability to help others. However, it took me a long time to recognize this talent and, more importantly, to honor its value and to trust its guidance in my work. 

You see, having played on the paranormal fringes for many, many years, I mistakenly believed that, like unisex clothing, psychic abilities were “One Size Fits All,” and none of the clothing fit me.

I always wanted to have the “real,” flashy psychic abilities – you know, the Sylvia Browne-type ones that would me make rich and famous – but I didn't need to be psychic to see that I was shortchanged at birth. Imagine my surprise – and annoyance – when I discovered that I could NOT:

• See dead people. 
• Channel angelic beings. 
• Solve unsolved crimes with help from the Other Side. 
• Read minds (mine or anyone else’s). 
• See auras (mine or anyone else’s). 
• Talk to the dearly departed (mine or anyone else’s). 
• See the future (mine or anyone else’s – my finely honed intuition tells me that I’m sensing a pattern here). 

You know the old joke: “When they were handing out brains, he thought they said trains and since he wasn't interested in taking a ride, he didn't queue up, which explains why he’s such a dope” (or something like that; I’m paraphrasing).

Before I joined this earthly journey, did I, too, get in the wrong line? Well, I decided that it must have been something like that for me: I misread the “Line up here for psychic gifts” sign and ended up in the wrong (dopey) line. 

Fortunately, over time I came to realize that, also like unisex clothing, one size does NOT fit all, and that my abilities were different from everyone else’s – just like everyone else’s abilities are different from, well, everyone else’s. So, in time and with the help of my psychic mentors, I learned to recognize my gifts – and to roll with them. I might not being able to do all of the sexy psychic things that will make me rich and famous but I can do this: because of my intuitive gifts, I just get stuff. Which means, in a nutshell, that I simply know what needs to be said to someone.

Clairsentience (aka “Clear Sensing/Feeling”)

Now, while I was developing my intuitive abilities, I had no idea where the answers were coming from. In the beginning, I chocked it up to part intuition, part empathy, part life experiences and time on the planet (you stick around on earth long enough, you pick up a few tips and tricks along the way). Which is all true and very helpful. But with practice and guidance from other psychics – and learning to hear and to trust my own Inner Self – I discovered that I had an additional guidance system that I could consciously access: some rather friendly entities that I lovingly (okay, mostly sarcastically) refer to as The Collective. 

(On occasion, I've also referred to them as The Borg, since trying to resist them can at times be futile! (If you’re too young – gulp – to recognize this reference, look it up.)

So what are they?

Well, the best way I can describe them is a group of Spirit Guides in human, animal, and inanimate forms. Unlike entities that are channeled by psychics like Edgar Cayce in order to bring forth messages that have universal relevance, the Collective is specific to me and to the work I've chosen to do to be in service to others. 

So how do I work with them? 

I can sense their presence, particularly in meditation although it’s not necessary for me to sit in a Lotus position to work with them (besides, I can’t even get into the Lotus position anymore so thank heavens that’s not a prerequisite!). They are present only on my left side, meaning that I am aware of them as if they are sitting next to me on the left but at right angles to me and facing me.

Clairaudience (aka “Clear Hearing”) 

So, how do I hear them?

Most of the time, their voices are a persistent buzzing; however, if I do need to get their guidance directly, it’s easier for me to be in the meditative state to hear them. Sometimes they whisper, sometimes they are loud, but mostly they enjoy laughing at me. It’s true – they think I can be pretty dopey sometimes, and they don’t mind telling me so.

The information they provide to me is in the form of thoughts, again always on the left side of my mind (not to be confused with the “left brain”). Sometimes I ask a question, other times I just sit and clear my mind, and the response comes. And over the years, and with a lot of practice, I've come to recognize the truth of the information. I've learned how to differentiate between their words, which is Truth, from my own words, which arise from my ego and are therefore Not Truth.

In meditation, my communication with the Collective is “back and forth,” much like having a conversation with someone. I’ll ask a question or simply ask for guidance, and they will answer. However, when I’m working with clients or teaching a workshop or assisting the members of my Metaphysical Practitioners Circle, my partnership with the Collective is more like a psychic conduit than back and forth. (Psychic conduit means you pick up on information/energy and it flows through you effortlessly.) I listen to others and then I simply know and can speak the Collective’s Truth as it pertains to each person’s particular situation.

Psychic Empathy

According to Dr. Michael Smith, one of the foremost authorities on empathic abilities, “everything has an energetic vibration or frequency, and an empath is able to sense these vibrations and recognize even the subtlest changes undetectable to the naked eye or the five senses.” Another important aspect of psychic empathy is what D.M. Berger calls “the capacity to know emotionally what another is experiencing from within the frame of reference of that other person.”

I believe that we must understand how the other person sees their world and what meaning they attribute to things in order to effectively communicate and connect with them. We all interact with the world from a unique perspective - our own. This interaction is built up of all our past and potential future experiences and dictates how we approach situations. To be able to interact with each other, we need to have some understanding of how the other person perceives their world.

My gift lies in my ability to psychically participate fully in someone else’s reality.

I have what Jamie Sams defines as “compassion for the paths that others must walk.” I instinctively form a bond made up purely of feelings and impressions with another person, place, or thing. I can easily put myself in another’s shoes, to experience that person’s experience, beliefs, and desires with compassion and intuitive understanding.

Because I have easy access to information about what is going on with someone, I know emotionally and nonjudgmentally what they are experiencing from within their particular “frame of reference.” When I talk with someone, I instinctively know what needs to be said. I relate to others by sensing their true feelings that run deeper than those portrayed on the surface. I begin by mentally sifting through my past experiences that relate to the other person’s current reality. In addition, I am extremely sensitive to my surroundings. Because empathy is not held by time or space, I have a special ability to resonate with plants, inanimate objects, and nature.

The psychic form of empathy should not be confused with the basic human emotion of empathy - most people can feel empathy for another person without necessarily being a psychic empath. The main difference, however, is that psychic empaths typically pick up non-visual, non-verbal cues that another individual is feeling pain, fear, or joy. Sometimes this is a matter of detecting energy fields or auras. Other times (which applies to me), it is a case of “knowing” that the person is feeling a certain way, despite no obvious clues to that effect.

And this is how it works for me.