Why You Think You Don't Have Psychic Abilities (But You Do)

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Many people desire having psychic abilities, assuming that they simply weren't gifted with them. They may have heard people talk about clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, or claircognizance, and they wonder why you're not experiencing anything that seems obviously psychic.

I'm realizing more and more that the problem isn't that they don't have psychic senses. It may actually be the expectations about what psychic senses are supposed to feel like that are actually getting in the way of recognizing them.

This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately because I believe that our psychic senses can be much more subtle than we expect.

What Are Psychic Senses?

When we talk about psychic senses, we're often talking about what are sometimes called "clair" abilities.

These consist of:

• Clairvoyance: inner seeing

• Clairaudience: inner hearing

• Clairsentience: receiving information through feeling or sensation

• Claircognizance: an inner knowing

There can also be intuitive experiences connected with the senses of smell and taste.

But these senses don't work the way our physical senses do. Think about your physical sight. If your eyes are working and you look at something in front of you, it's just... right there. You can look at it, look away, and look back. It's stable and obvious.

But psychic senses can be very different. They can be subtle. They can be fleeting. And sometimes they can happen so quickly that you question whether you experienced anything at all.

One of the biggest obstacles to experiences your inner senses might be your expectation. You may assume that if we're clairvoyant, you're going to literally see something in front of you with the same clarity and stability that you see a physical object. But that's not how it works for most (all?) people who are tuned into their inner sight.

You might receive a flash of an image that disappears almost immediately. You might see something in your peripheral vision, but when you turn your eyes to look directly at it, it's gone. You might close your eyes and suddenly have an image appear in your mind that you didn't consciously create. Because the experience is so fleeting, it's incredibly easy to dismiss it. "That was nothing." "I probably imagined that." "Maybe that was from my own thought."

And that doubt can cause us to overlook the very experiences we're trying to understand.

Psychic Senses Can Be Subtle

It's important to understand when you're beginning to explore your psychic senses that subtle doesn't mean insignificant.

In a telepathic group I've been leading, we've been practicing receiving information about a particular target. We enter a meditative state and then draw or write down whatever impressions come through. As we've navigated the telepathic exercises together, we have been reflecting on how the information shows up for each of us. What's fascinating is that people receive information in very different ways. Some people see images with their eyes closed. Some hear a word, letter, or phrase. Others don't see or hear anything specific; they simply have an impression or an idea that comes into their awareness. Someone might suddenly know something without knowing how they know it. Someone else might get a particular shape, such as a triangle or a flower. Another person might receive waves or another visual impression.

There isn't necessarily one correct way to receive intuitive or psychic information. And your experience may even change over time. As one sense becomes more familiar, you may find that other ways of receiving information begin to open up as well.

Learning to Notice Your Intuition

I believe one of the most valuable things you can do is simply become more aware of what you're already experiencing.

Instead of immediately/subconsciously dismissing an impression, pause. Notice it. What did you experience right before that thought appeared? Did an image flash through your mind? Did you suddenly hear a word internally? Did you have a feeling about something without being able to explain why? Did you simply know something?

You don't have to immediately decide what the experience means. You can simply become curious about it. This curiosity allows you to begin learning your own language of intuition.

We can apply this idea beyond psychic experiences.

Even with our physical senses, we often take our perception for granted. For example, if I look at a blank wall without really paying attention, I might simply register the wall as one solid color. But if I slow down and really focus on what I'm seeing, I may notice layers of color, movement, texture, and tiny points of light that I wasn't consciously aware of before.

The experience and type of perception was already there. I simply wasn't paying attention to it.

I think our psychic senses can be similar. There may be layers of perception available to us that we're simply not accustomed to noticing. When we become quiet, focused, and present, we can begin to perceive more.

Discernment Is Essential

As you explore your psychic senses, another important aspect to be aware of is discernment.

Receiving information doesn't automatically mean that the information is correct, helpful, or coming from a benevolent source. Just because you hear something internally doesn't mean you have to follow it. Just because you have a strong intuitive impression doesn't mean you have to act on it immediately.

Developing psychic awareness also means developing your ability to discern what you're receiving.

This is connected to sovereignty. You are still responsible for your thoughts, your beliefs, your choices, and your actions.

You're not necessarily meant to surrender completely to every intuitive impression that comes through. It's to become more aware while remaining grounded in your own discernment.

How to Develop Your Psychic Senses

If you want to explore your own psychic senses, you don't necessarily need to do anything dramatic.

Start by becoming quieter. Meditation can be incredibly helpful because it gives you an opportunity to notice what is happening beneath the constant activity of the mind. You can also begin keeping a journal of intuitive experiences. Write down impressions before you try to interpret them. If an image flashes through your mind, write it down. If you suddenly think of a particular person, make a note of it. If you have an unexplained feeling about something, record that too.

Over time, you may begin to recognize patterns. You may discover that your intuition tends to come through images. Or perhaps you receive information as words. Maybe you get physical sensations. Or maybe your strongest intuitive sense is simply knowing.

The more you pay attention, the more familiar these experiences can become.

Your Super Senses May Already Be There

I believe that many of us have access to far more subtle forms of perception than we realize.

Rather than learning how to suddenly become psychic, it may be more about learning how to recognize what is already happening.

So if you've ever thought, "I don't have psychic abilities," question that assumption.

Instead, ask yourself: What if I'm already receiving information, but I haven't learned how to recognize it yet?

Pay attention to the flashes and impressions.

Become curious about the knowing. Widen your expectations about what psychic senses can look and feel like. And importantly, stay grounded in your own discernment and sovereignty.

There may be much more happening within your awareness than you've been taught to notice. Your psychic senses may not be loud nor look like you expected. But they may already be there, waiting for you to become quiet enough to notice them.