What does Psychic mean?

I was driving to dinner last night with a friend, and we stopped briefly to talk with his neighbor. My friend introduced me and said, half-jokingly,

"Jeffrey's a psychic, so give him a call if you ever need to know your future!"

I smiled at this common misunderstanding of the term "psychic". When someone hears that I'm psychic, they often react in a similar manner, posing a question such as "Who was my 3rd grade teacher?" or "Will I win the lottery?" There seems to be general consensus in our society that psychics recount the past or predict the future. Neither is actually the case. So what does "psychic" mean then? In my terminology, a "psychic" is not someone who is gifted or trained in viewing the past or future, but rather someone who is gifted or trained in perceiving the present.

Put simply, psychics perceive present time energy. Although stated concisely, this phrase packs a lot of meaning. To understand it better, let's break it down into three concepts: energy, perception, and present time.

Energy

As we know from Einstein's research, everything is energy. Thus, learning to perceive energy can have a wide variety of uses. Say, for example, that I have a back ache. If we believe "everything is energy", then my back is energy, my nerves are energy, even the ache is energy. In this case, the "ache" is my body's perception that some energy in the body is out of balance. As a psychic, I may perceive this imbalance as a collection of influencing energies.

These energies may be tangible such as physical spinal misalignment or less tangible such as stored childhood emotional trauma or present time worry about an upcoming public performance. Noticing these energies gives me the opportunity to change my experience of a back ache by changing the influencing energies. In this example, it may be as simple as realizing that I am worried, laughing about it, and letting it go. As I let go of the worry, the tension in my back begins to fade.

Perception

Perceiving energy is a subtle skill which varies from person to person. Some people see energy; others feel it, hear it, or simply know it. Even though I use the words "see", "hear" and "feel", my perception of energy is significantly different than seeing, hearing, and feeling physical objects. Because most of my perceptions are physical in nature, however, I often map my subtle perceptions of energy to well known physical concepts.

Although I label these perceptions as "psychic", I don't believe they are experienced only by people who label themselves as "psychic". Most people I've met have had experiences where they inexplicably perceived information. They may have sensed distress in a far away sibling before finding out about some trauma or simply knew who was calling before picking up a ringing phone. In each case, the person was perceiving energy without the use of their physical senses.

Present Time

As a psychic, I perceive present time energy. I am not looking back at the past nor forward at the future, but rather I'm looking at energy right now in the present. At first, perceiving the present may not seem as exciting or as useful as perceiving the past or future. Consider, however, that each of your physical senses also perceive only the present. Even past pains and physical scars are experienced solely from their present manifestation.

Similar to physical signs of the past, perceiving present time energy gives a view into the past. Unlike the physical, however, the present influence of past subtle energies can be very distinct and clear. As in the example above, I may notice the present time influence of a past childhood trauma. Although looking at the present, I may "see" energies from past events which are still lingering in present time. These energies may still contain lots of information about the past event such as time, location, and other people involved.

Similarly, perceiving the present can give a view into the future. As in the example above, I may notice how an upcoming performance is causing a back ache in the present. Another way to think of this is to consider that a present time energy has both a location and a motion. Just as I can view a baseball moving through the air and "predict" when and where it will land, I can perceive the motion of many present time energies and "predict" where they will lead. Accuracy of such "predictions" may vary based on unforeseen influences. In the case of the baseball, unforeseen events such as rain, wind, or even a player catching and re-throwing the ball can change the accuracy of the prediction.

Although perceiving present time energies can give a view into the past or the future, the focus of psychic perception is generally the present. Understanding the energies of the present helps us choose our reaction to the present - whether it be a simple change of mood or a decision to move in a new direction.

What does Psychic mean?

Putting these concepts back together, psychics perceive present time energy. This perception is subtle but can be analogous to physical perception. Understanding the present can have implications on the past and future. Everything is energy, thus everything can be perceived in this manner. As with the physical, however, the ability to be perceived should not be confused with actual perception. Although you are personally capable of smelling all flowers on the planet, it is very unlikely that you will indeed do so.

So, the next time you meet a psychic, rather than asking something silly like "Will I win the lottery?" consider asking for insight on something that you are experiencing in present time. You might be surprised at the answer you get!