Aug
19
I came across this article on techniques for developing etheric sight. I thought some readers might find the techniques interesting or helpful. I cannot vouch for their efficacy as I haven’t tried them yet myself. - Tom Z
BY RICHELLE HAWKS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF etheric vision is warranted in many cases. Ghost hunters or those who feel they may have some mediumistic talents may feel inclined to develop their visual reference frameworks. Massage therapists and other bodyworkers may feel a desire to take their work to another level, either to augment current practices or develop new ones. Or you may just have a curiosity in such talents.
There are many theories, terminologies, names, methodologies associated with etheric vision. I don’t necessarily promote or subscribe to any of them, and I will be using terminologies found in different schemas to describe the experiences and phenomena. For example, although I may use the term aura, I am not suggesting anything about the standard aura mythos commonly found in New Age writings.
I am also not promoting a belief system – I encourage anyone interested in this area to read widely, experiment, and come to their own conclusions, ideas, and applications. The idea of etheric vision and its development has come to me gradually and naturally after many years of full-time bodywork, and I am convinced that communing with invisible fields and energies are a natural byproduct of intense interpersonal focus within the healing arts and similar endeavors.
That some people can view the body and immediately and correctly see problem areas without being able to necessarily articulate “why,” or see colors and moving fields may be a matter of experience rather than anything magical, special, or spiritual.
If I (and many, many others, both anciently and modernly) am correct, and these etheric fields really are somewhat objectively present, then it naturally follows that people involved in working with them (my assumption here being that healing somehow involves these fields) may over time acquire the ability to work with and see the fields even without attempting such. This has been my personal experience, and accepting the naturally occurring visual phenomena and subtle promptings therein has deepened my practice.
Because of this, I have been prompted to develop this talent, and in the process, I have found many techniques and exercises that can enhance etheric vision. Below are some of these easy techniques.
1. GATHERING AWARENESS AND GROUNDING
This is the simplest of techniques, and is warranted preceding any type of focused effort, or just an exercise in itself. Simply mentally gather or call all your awareness from wherever it may be focused (hearing the traffic outside, going over a conversation you had days ago, thinking about what to make for dinner) and bring it behind your eyes. Actually go through the motions mentally of physically gathering all aspects of yourself and your awareness together – visualize this as an interactive movie or picture. And/or you can even physically use your hands to call all your awareness together – it may look weird, but grab all the pieces in your hands, and cup your hands over your eyes, directing the awareness through your eyelids, through your physical eyes, and release it behind your eyes. Once your awareness is behind your eyes, look out from behind the back of your eyes. Not only is this a great precursor to any type of etheric vision developing or meditative practice, it does wonders when you are just feeling out of sorts, mildly depressed, or “not yourself.” To take this therapeutic effect a step further, envision a vine or flower tied to your ankles and send down its stem through the floor, through the dirt, and affixing itself strongly and securely to the center of the Earth.
2. LOOKING THROUGH THE EYELIDS
This technique takes a bit of focused practice to “get it.” For this exercise, bring your awareness to looking out of each of your eyes in turn, while both remain open. Most of us favor one eye or the other, so this can be somewhat of a frustrating exercise. With both eyes open, simply focus on an object or point out of your left eye for a few seconds, then focus on the same object with your right eye for a few seconds. There’s really no trick to this – you don’t need to squint or anything – you should be able to switch the dominant viewing after a while from one eye to another.
Once you have mastered switching the dominant eye, pick a plain, simple object (a crystal, your other hand, a lit candle, etc.) to use as a meditative device. This object should be about a foot away from your eye, at eye level. Close one eye and cover it with your palm. Now, look at the meditation object using your closed eye as dominant. This takes some practice because it is obviously very counterintuitive, and it is a subtle effect. But you will know when you have mastered it.
There is a sense of seeing the object in a very elusive and non-ordinary way. You will have the strange sensation of seeing through your closed eye. Once this feeling is attained, try to keep your focus in this vision as long as possible. After much practice, and with a sustained attention, visual phenomena such as the auric field may be seen. It may help to position the object so that it is more in line with the eye that is covered. Be sure to practice this technique with both eyes in every session.
3. PRACTICING PERIPHERAL VISION
This may be the most effective, easy technique in development of the etheric sight. It is said that the dynamics involved in peripheral vision are the same involved in etheric vision. This may have to do with using rods vs. cones (components of your eye’s retina). After much practice in developing peripheral vision, you can specifically engage dynamics learned within to facilitate etheric vision. The methods may vary, and will be apparent.
The technique is easy and can be varied in any way that is convenient or challenging. To begin, choose an object or spot directly in front of you for a reference point. Bring your arms straight out to your sides (so your body would form a ‘T’ shape), and begin wiggling your fingers. Keep your vision focused on the chosen reference area in front of you, but direct your attention to finding your fingers. Slowly bring your arms in toward the middle (still outstretched and with wiggling fingers) until you can see both hands.
Some ideas and variations
Use a candle flame for your focal object. Practice keeping your awareness on your wiggling fingers, while maintaining a fixed gaze on the flame. Try to incorporate the two dynamics, this division of averted awareness and focal point. Notice how the candle flame moves and changes, take in the movements and “feeling” without interpretation. “Notice” the flame with pure awareness. After you get the hang of attuning your peripheral vision, you can use this exercise as a meditation tool, without having to outstretch your arms. Simply engage your peripheral vision.
Have a friend stand in your peripheral vision and hold up different objects or fingers. See if you can discern the objects or the number of fingers. Developing skills in peripheral vision doesn’t take very much time, and even within one session you may be able to see improvement.
4. CLOSED EYES, OPEN EYES
This technique involves simply closing your eyes and noticing the patterns of light and other phenomena. There’s a lot going on there. We tend to filter these phenomena out. I don’t mean to imply there is necessarily anything mystical or extraordinary in this; rather, I advocate just incorporating awareness to it. Allowing the fullest spectrum of visual phenomena into our awareness brings a clearer picture of reality, which is all about perception and interpretation anyway.
Lying on a couch or bed with closed eyes, try to stay clear of day dreaming or straying attention, and keep a focus on observation. See the lights, shapes, and colors in the same way you would view a painting in a museum, look out of an airplane window, or view a movie screen in a theatre. Alternately, open your eyes, look at the ceiling, and notice any of these same phenomena are still present. Use the ceiling as a backdrop – look in front of it.
Although within this technique, and some of the others, visual phenomena may be induced in itself, these are meant to train the eyes, brain, and everyday cultural filtering mechanisms to see a bit differently, and thereby incorporate etheric vision into a general framework, enhancing and complimenting any given endeavors.
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Richelle Hawks is an author at Associated Content. Her blog is beamships equal love, and she is a regular contributor to UFO Digest and has an upcoming weekly column at Binnall of America.
Aug
15
by Thomas Zinser, Ed.D.
The Soul’s Emissary
In the last essay (SCH #15), I talked about the protective part of the mind as a consciousness, separate from the conscious self. It’s a limited consciousness, though. The protective part doesn’t see beyond the ego reality and is always perceiving from a present and defensive point of view.
There is another part of the mind that is also conscious and functions independently of the conscious self. It goes by many names and is recognized in many cultures: The Inner Self, the True Self, the Higher Self, Atman, the Christ Self… These are all names referring to that part of ourselves that knows it is the Light, sees the Light in others, and knows the truth.
This consciousness transcends the ego and physical reality. It is a soul consciousness. It is the part of our soul that is active and perceiving in our present life, knows our personal history, and has knowledge of our soul’s other lifetimes. We might describe the higher self as the soul’s projection of a piece of itself into our present incarnation. In every lifetime, the soul creates a higher self specific to that lifetime, but these higher selves all serve the same function.
As a soul consciousness, the higher self is a source of Light, Love, and Knowledge. It is a conduit of Light between the soul and self. It is through our higher self that we know we are a spiritual being, a soul living among souls. We feel it, more than see it. We attune to it, rather than hold it. The higher self is the soul’s emissary to the conscious self and a constant connection to Source.
As a source of Light, the higher self can be a tremendous resource for a person in many ways. However, It will not force the self in any way or violate the self’s free choice. The soul does not create the higher self to live the lifetime and make the choices. The higher self is not a chooser. This would defeat the purpose of the soul’s incarnating in the first place. Rather, the higher self acts as a beacon, a source of knowledge and guidance, and a direct connection to the Light.
How open, attuned, and integrated a person is with this soul consciousness varies from one individual to the next.
We can open ourselves more fully to this soul consciousness if we choose to. Or we can ignore it, override it, or mistrust it.
You don’t have to belong to any particular religion or group to know your higher self. There are many religious and spiritual practices that are meant to help a person open this connection and expand its presence in his or her life.
In Soul-Centered Healing, making sure this connection is open and active is one of the first goals in the healing process. There are parts of the self or conditions within the self that can block or limit this connection.
The problem is, first, that we cannot know the higher self through our intellect. We cannot think our way into this knowing. We can only know it through experience.
And second, no one can be forced to experience it, or say yes to it. It is always a free choice act for each soul. We could not, for example, have a mass inoculation of conversion.
At the same time, the higher self always supports a person’s choices for the Light. This includes healing. The higher self is always ready to assist in a person’s healing and will do whatever it can if it is asked, i.e., freely chosen.
In Soul-Centered Healing, the higher self plays a central role in the healing process because of its ability to communicate when a client is in trance. The higher self is able to identify sources of conflict and pain, and help bring Light into these areas once permission is given.
More will be said about the higher self as we get further into the healing process. (You can find another essay on the higher self here.)
First, though, there is a third phenomenon that is a central concern in Soul-Centered Healing. These are the ego-states, or sub-personalities. They are parts of the our self operating at an unconscious level that can be a significant source of confusion, pain, or distress.
Next: Soul-Centered Healing #17: The Inner World of Ego-States
Photo: Courtesy of John Curley at
http://www.flickr.com/people/jay_que/
Aug
14
Maybe it isn’t only the earthlings celebrating the opening of the Olympics. The crop circle below appeared on 8-08-08 and seems to echo the importance the Chinese place on the numeral 8.
You can find an excellent series of photos at The Circle Connector. Look at the entire formation and you’ll see it is a triple 8 formation. - Tom Z
Here is the caption for the openng photos:
Image Robert Copyright 2008
Synchronicity appears in a Fields of Wiltshire
On the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of the twenty first century the number eight appears in one of the fields of Wiltshire.
The number eight is a very meaningful number to the Chinese as it is also to many religions of the world.
The sheer scale of this formation is a marvel to behold. Many people were walking among its many circles in awe and wonder
Aug
11
I have installed a new theme template which will show the sidebars at the top, though they are on the left instead of the right. I’ll keep this theme up until we figure out the problem with the other theme.
Also, we’re still working on the Problem of uploading images.
Thanks for your patience.
Tom Z
Aug
9
You might notice that the sidebars are not visible to tell you the categories, most recent posts, etc. If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you’ll find the sidebars.
Also, at the moment, the blog software will not allow me to upload pictures to my blog.
These problems are being worked on by the webmaster and hopefully will be solved soon. Tom Z
Aug
8
I wanted to share another person’s point of view on Dr. Elizabeth Mayer’s book, Extraordinary Knowing. This review is written by Robert McLuhan at Paranormalia. I’ve just recently discovered Mr. McLuhan’s blog. He seems to be a kindred spirit and I’ll be exploring his site. – Tom Z
Here’s what he says about his blog:
Parapsychologists think some paranormal claims are genuine. Sceptics say they can all be explained in terms of fraud or misperception. Paranormalia takes the view that parapsychologists are right, but recognises that the issues are hard to penetrate. It comments on recent controversies, research and books to help shed light on this fascinating and much misunderstood subject.
Here’s the review:
by Robert McLuhan
Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer’s book, Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind was published last year, and recently came out in paperback (she herself died of a long-standing intestinal disease shortly after completing it). I’d heard a lot about the incident she describes, in which a psychic helped her recover a lost object. Mayer’s natural scepticism was confounded, and she embarked on a journey to try to understand what was going on. Sceptics grappling with psi often makes for interesting reading, and although not quite what I expected I was not disappointed.
As psychic stories go, hers is in the five-star class. Someone had nicked a harp belonging to her eleven year old daughter. Having failed to get it back by conventional means, a friend suggested she try a psychic. What had she got to lose?
Mayer called up a dowser named Harold, who said: ‘Hang on, I’ll check to see if it’s still in your neighbourhood.’ Then: ‘yup, it’s still there, send me a street plan’. Two days later Harold came up with an exact address. Mayer couldn’t simply knock on the door, so instead she posted flyers outside offering a reward. A man then rang to say he’d seen a poster outside his house about a harp, and the description matched one his neighbour had recently shown him - soon it was back in her daughter’s room. Read more
Aug
7
These are two excellent short videos. Each presents brief clips from an interview with Dean Radin on science and the paranormal. He talks about some of the major issues we face in dealing with psychic or paranormal realities in modern society.
You’ll find the videos at Post Modern Times at iClips.net. The menu on the right lists the Dean Radin videos, Part 1 & 2.
These are some powerful ideas covered very quickly. Each point he makes deserves a talk all on its own. I’d like to see the entire interview if it’s available. - Tom Z
Aug
7
This is one of the most interesting videos I have seen in a long time on poltergeist and psycho-kinetics. If the video is what it claims, it’s a powerful statement about invisible forces and possibly invisible beings.
One can always argue that it’s a fake. I’m not going to spend time trying to find out. I believe the person who posted this video is honest and sincere about their experience and what he or she did to capture this video. But what do I know? Judge for yourself. You’ll be entertained if nothing else. - Tom Z
See the Video
