Don't many of us have doubts about those who possess "psychic" abilities?  We hope and we want to believe that these people have a certain amount of credibility.  However, within each and every one of us there remains an element of doubt.  Even with the people we have come to greatly admire.  Somehow, we are always left wondering how they do it. Where they born under the right star?  More unique, or gifted than the rest of us?  Or thought more highly of by God and so vested with something that the rest of us could only wish for and dream about (if this is our interest).

What is the secret of these hidden talents and why is it some possess it and many do not?  Yes, many people who are considered the world's top psychics do seem to have been born with their gifts.  My belief is that these people choose this prior to birth, as we choose all of our experiences.  Some also say that there is an element of genetic heritage to psychic abilities in children. However, we must begin to understand that there is a little more to it than that, or at least there can be.

Over the past five years, I have been involved in the study of belief systems and how they impact our lives, either adding to, or detracting from our very existance.  What I have discovered is - psychic abilities are linked to the five senses.  Now, this might seem like very old news, for many of us have heard of the terms, clairvoyant, clairaudience and clairsentience and that these abilities are extentions of the five senses, in some manner.  But I don't think we have been paying enough attention and that these ideas have been glossed.  It is not only about the five senses, it is about beliefs about the five senses and their capacity to develop further.

When I first started to study, it was with the goal to develop more confidence in myself, not to become psychic in any way.  First of all, I didn't think it was possible, for I was one of the people who ascribed to the idea of psychic abilities being given at birth, or not. I realize that there are many "how to" suggestions on how to develope psychic abilities and the ability to channel, but still I feel drawn to write this article and hope to further it as a book.

For me, meditation has been the key.  Fifteen minutes once, or twice a day will start you on the road to becoming very sensitive in a way you may never have experienced before.  You will gradually develop the ability to finely tune your five senses and this is where it all starts. Since I have often been asked how can I connect with my own spirit guides when I do not see or hear them, I tell people guides take the most accessible route.  In other words, because people have so much mind chatter at times, they do not always realize when they are getting help from spirit.  Therefore, your guides will often work first through feelings.

Have any of you heard the rather unflowery term, "gut instinct"? This is what I am talking about.  It is the subtle feelings we must learn to tune into and to trust.  How many of you have ever said to yourself, "If I would have just listened to myself in the first place, I wouldn't be in this mess."  It is just that simple.

One of the things I have noticed is that people expect to have big startling revelations when they connect with their spirit guides or angels (kind of like a surmon on the mount sort of thing) and because they do hear these kind of speeches, they miss out on the fact that they are getting help all of the time.  Another frequently asked question I get is, "how do I know it is is my guides, or JUST ME"?  Well, let me tell you, if I had a dollar for everytime I asked myself that question, I would be comfortably retired on a tropical beach somewhere.

I spent countless hours, when I worked my midnight job, pondering this very question.  At the time, I had been reading a number of books on the collective unconsciousness, by Carl Jung.  Finally, it came to me that we are all part of one whole, all that is the universe.  I began to realize that the first things I had to get rid of were the words JUST ME and begin to see that "just me" was pretty important in the grander scheme of things.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying more important than anyone else.  I mean, part of something that defied even my own comprehension.  When I dropped the phrase "just me" and began to see God and the universe as being within, I stopped the inner struggle. Now:  I am not saying our guides, or angels are not separate individuals, unique in their own right, but I became more accepting of this energy when I realized I was a part of it.

With further regard to belief systems and to put it plain and simple, many people feel that such things as guides and angels and the belief in them is a lot of who-haw.  Yes, and they also feel a belief in life after death is the same.  I am not about to argue with those who feel this way, but I can only say that I have questioned these concepts myself and understand people's skepticism, but when you have something smack you in the face often enough, I guess you wake up and life, most assuredly, is never the same again.