The meanings of terms used in clairvoyance
Many Empaths are Clairvoyant and it is important to become familiar with the terms used in clairvoyance to understand what you are experiencing. This description was taken from Wikipedia and if you click on the purple highlighted words, this will take you to a further description of the meaning of the word/s.
The words 'clairvoyance' and 'psychic' are often used to refer to many different kinds of paranormal sensory experiences, but there are more specific names:
Clairsentience (feeling/touching) is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person acquires 'psychic' knowledge primarily by feeling. The word 'clear' is from the French 'clair' and 'sentience' is derived from the Latin 'sentire' - 'to feel'.
In addition to parapsychology, the term also plays a role in some religions. For example - Clairsentience is one of the six human special functions mentioned or recorded in Buddhism. It is an ability that can be obtained at advanced meditation level. Generally the term refers to a person who can feel the vibration of other people. There are many different degrees of Clairsentience ranging from the perception of diseases of other people to the thoughts or emotions of other people. The ability differs from third eye in that this kind of ability cannot have a vivid picture in the mind. Instead, a very vivid feeling can form.
Psychometry is related to Clairsentience. The word stems from 'psyche' and 'metric', which means 'soul-measuring'.
Clairaudience (hearing/listening), from late 17th century French meaning clair (clear) and audience (hearing), is a form of extra-sensory perception whereby a person acquires information by paranormal auditory means. It is often considered to be a form of clairvoyance Clairaudience is essentially the ability to hear in a paranormal manner, as opposed to paranormal seeing (clairvoyance) and feeling (clairsentience). Clairaudient people have psi-mediated hearing. Clairaudience may refer not to actual perception of sound, but may instead indicate impressions of the 'inner mental ear' similar to the way many people think words without having auditory impressions. But it may also refer to actual perception of sounds such as voices, tones, or noises which are not apparent to other humans or to recording equipment. For instance, a Clairaudient person might claim to hear the voices or thoughts of the spirits of persons who are deceased. In Buddhism, it is believed that those who have extensively practised Buddhist meditation and have reached a higher level of consciousness can activate their "third ear" and hear the music of the spheres; i.e. the music of the Celestial Gandharvas.
Clairaudience may be positively distinguished from the voices heard by the mentally ill when it reveals information unavailable to the Clairaudient person by normal means (including cold reading or other magic tricks), and thus may be termed 'Psychic' or paranormal.
Clairalience (smelling) is also known as Clairescence.
Clairalience, presumably from late 17th century French clair (clear) and alience (smelling), is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person accesses psychic knowledge through the physical sense of smell.
Claircognizance (knowing), presumably from late 17th century French, clair (clear) and cognizance (knowing), is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person acquires psychic knowledge primarily by means of intrinsic knowledge. It is the ability to know something without a physical explanation why you know it, like the concept of mediums.
Clairgustance (tasting) is defined as a form of extra-sensory perception that allegedly allows one to taste a substance without putting anything in one's mouth. It is claimed that those who possess this ability are able to perceive the essence of a substance from the spiritual or ethereal realms through taste.
The words 'clairvoyance' and 'psychic' are often used to refer to many different kinds of paranormal sensory experiences, but there are more specific names:
Clairsentience (feeling/touching) is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person acquires 'psychic' knowledge primarily by feeling. The word 'clear' is from the French 'clair' and 'sentience' is derived from the Latin 'sentire' - 'to feel'.
In addition to parapsychology, the term also plays a role in some religions. For example - Clairsentience is one of the six human special functions mentioned or recorded in Buddhism. It is an ability that can be obtained at advanced meditation level. Generally the term refers to a person who can feel the vibration of other people. There are many different degrees of Clairsentience ranging from the perception of diseases of other people to the thoughts or emotions of other people. The ability differs from third eye in that this kind of ability cannot have a vivid picture in the mind. Instead, a very vivid feeling can form.
Psychometry is related to Clairsentience. The word stems from 'psyche' and 'metric', which means 'soul-measuring'.
Clairaudience (hearing/listening), from late 17th century French meaning clair (clear) and audience (hearing), is a form of extra-sensory perception whereby a person acquires information by paranormal auditory means. It is often considered to be a form of clairvoyance Clairaudience is essentially the ability to hear in a paranormal manner, as opposed to paranormal seeing (clairvoyance) and feeling (clairsentience). Clairaudient people have psi-mediated hearing. Clairaudience may refer not to actual perception of sound, but may instead indicate impressions of the 'inner mental ear' similar to the way many people think words without having auditory impressions. But it may also refer to actual perception of sounds such as voices, tones, or noises which are not apparent to other humans or to recording equipment. For instance, a Clairaudient person might claim to hear the voices or thoughts of the spirits of persons who are deceased. In Buddhism, it is believed that those who have extensively practised Buddhist meditation and have reached a higher level of consciousness can activate their "third ear" and hear the music of the spheres; i.e. the music of the Celestial Gandharvas.
Clairaudience may be positively distinguished from the voices heard by the mentally ill when it reveals information unavailable to the Clairaudient person by normal means (including cold reading or other magic tricks), and thus may be termed 'Psychic' or paranormal.
Clairalience (smelling) is also known as Clairescence.
Clairalience, presumably from late 17th century French clair (clear) and alience (smelling), is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person accesses psychic knowledge through the physical sense of smell.
Claircognizance (knowing), presumably from late 17th century French, clair (clear) and cognizance (knowing), is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a person acquires psychic knowledge primarily by means of intrinsic knowledge. It is the ability to know something without a physical explanation why you know it, like the concept of mediums.
Clairgustance (tasting) is defined as a form of extra-sensory perception that allegedly allows one to taste a substance without putting anything in one's mouth. It is claimed that those who possess this ability are able to perceive the essence of a substance from the spiritual or ethereal realms through taste.
mediumship
There are several different variants of Mediumship. The best known forms are where a spirit takes control of a medium's voice and uses it to relay a message, or where the medium simply 'hears' the message and passes it on. Other forms involve manifestations of the spirit, such as apparitions or the presence of a voice, and telekinetic activity.
Attempts to contact the dead date back to early human history, with mediumship gaining in popularity during the 19th century. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice started to lose credibility. Nevertheless the practice still continues to this day, and high profile fraud has been uncovered as recently as the 2000's.
In recent years scientific research has been undertaken to ascertain the validity of claims of mediumship. In an experiment undertaken by the British Psychological Society, the conclusion was that the test subjects demonstrated no mediumistic ability. Other experiments which have seemingly found evidence of paranormal activity have been criticised for not establishing thorough test conditions. An experiment considered by parapsychologists to be one of the most compelling involved taking electroencephalography readings of twelve test subjects, most of which were found to have abnormal readings, with some readings bearing similarities to those found in epileptics even though the subjects had never experienced fits and had no family history of epilepsy. While mediumistic ability is neither confirmed or denied by unusual brain activity, the findings of the experiment was that parapsychological phenomena are at least partly a function of the brain.
In Spiritism and Spiritualism, the role of the medium is to be an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Mediums claim to be able to listen to and relay messages from spirits or allow a spirit to control their body and speak through it directly or by using automatic writing or drawing.
Spiritualists classify types of Mediumship into two main categories: "mental" and "physical". Mental mediums are believed to "tune in" to the spirit world by listening, sensing, or seeing spirits or symbols. Physical mediums are believed to produce materialization of spirits, apports of objects, levitation, and other effects such as knocking, rapping, bell ringing, etc. by using "ectoplasm" created from the cells of their bodies and those of seance attendees. During seances, mediums are said to go into trances, varying from light to deep, that permit their minds to be controlled by spirits.
Mediumship is also part of the belief system of some New Age groups. In this context, and under the name 'channelling', it refers to a medium (the channel) who is said to receive messages from a 'teaching-spirit'.
Spiritualism
Attempts to communicate with the dead and other living human beings, aka spirits, have been documented back to early human history. The story of the Witch of Endor tells of one who raised the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel to allow the Hebrew king Saul to question his former mentor about an upcoming battle, as related in the First book of Samuel in the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament).
Mediumship became quite popular in the 19th-century United States and the United Kingdom after the rise of Spiritualism as a religious movement. Modern Spiritualism is said to date from practices and lectures of the Fox sisters in New York State in 1848. The trance mediums Paschal Beverly Randolph and Emma Hardinge Britten were among the most celebrated lecturers and authors on the subject in the mid-19th century. Allan Kardec coined the term Spiritism around 1860. Kardec claimed that conversations with spirits by selected mediums were the basis of his 'The Spirits' Book and later, his five-book collection, Spiritist Codification.
After the exposure of the fraudulent use of stage magic tricks by physical mediums such as the Davenport Brothers and the Bangs Sisters, mediumship fell into disrepute. The practice continued among people who believed that the dead can be contacted and tried to do so. From the 1930s through the 1990s, as psychical Mediumship became less practised in Spiritualist churches, the technique of 'channelling' gained in popularity. Books by channellers who claimed to relate the wisdom of non-corporeal and non-terrestrial teacher/spirits became best sellers amongst believers.
Mental Mediumship
'Mental Mediumship' is communication of spirits with a medium by Telepathy. The medium mentally 'hears' (Clairaudience),'sees' (Clairvoyance), and/or feels (Clairsentience) messages from spirits. Directly or with the help of a spirit guide, the medium passes the information on to the message's recipient(s). When a medium is doing a 'reading' for a particular person, that person is known as the 'sitter'.
Trance Mediumship
Trance Mediumship is often seen as a form of Mental Mediumship. Most trance mediums remain conscious during a communication period, wherein a spirit uses the medium's mind to communicate. The spirit or spirits using the medium's mind influences the mind with the thoughts being conveyed. The medium allows the ego to step aside for the message to be delivered. At the same time, one has awareness of the thoughts coming through and may even influence the message with one's own bias. Such a trance is not to be confused with sleepwalking, as the patterns are entirely different, Castillo (1995) states,
Trance phenomena result from the behaviour of intense focusing of attention, which is the key psychological mechanism of trance induction. Adaptive responses, including institutionalized forms of trance, are 'tuned' into neural networks in the brain.
In the 1860s and 1870s, trance mediums were very popular. Spiritualism generally attracted female adherents, many who had strong interests in social justice. Many trance mediums delivered passionate speeches on abolitionism, temperance, and women's suffrage. Scholars have described Leonora Piper as one of the most famous trance mediums in the history of Spiritualism.
In the typical deep trance, the medium may not have clear recall of all the messages conveyed while in an altered state; such people generally work with an assistant. That person selectively wrote down or otherwise recorded the medium's words. Rarely did the assistant record the responding words of the sitter and other attendants. An example of this kind of relationship can be found in the early 20th century collaboration between the trance medium Mrs Cecil. M. Cook of the William .T. Stead Memorial Center in Chicago (a religious body incorporated under the statutes of the State of Illinois) and the journalist Lloyd Kenyon Jones. The latter was a non-medium Spiritualist who transcribed Cook's messages in shorthand. He edited them for publication in book and pamphlet form.
Physical Mediumship
'Physical Mediumship' is defined as manipulation of energies and energy systems by spirits.
Physical Mediumship may involve perceptible manifestations, such as loud raps and noises, voices, materialized objects, apports, materialized spirit bodies, or body parts such as hands, and levitation. The medium is used as a source of power for such spirit manifestations. By some accounts, this was achieved by using the energy or ectoplasm released by a medium, see Spirit photography. The last physical medium to be tested by a committee from Scientific American was Mina Crandon in 1924.
Most physical Mediumship is presented in a darkened or dimly lit room. Most physical mediums make use of a traditional array of tools and appurtenances, including spirit trumpets, spirit cabinets, and levitation tables.
The term 'Physical Mediumship', should not be construed as implying that any induced apport is confined to the physical plane. The apport (ectoplasm or whatever) may be composed of 'etheric', 'astral', 'mental', or 'causal' substance (i.e., a substance naturally residing on one of those planes and only temporarily transported into the physical plane). Instead, the term 'physical Mediumship, is employed to imply an effect manifested upon objects naturally existing on the physical plane, by means of interaction (merely physical, not chemical) with substance transported out (temporarily) of another plane of existence.
Direct Voice Communication
Direct voice communication involves spirits speaking independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the real and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as 'trumpet mediums'. This form of Mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. The British medium, Leslie Flint, is one of the best known exponents of this form of Mediumship.
Channelling
In the latter half of the 20th century, Western mediumship developed in two different ways. One type involves psychics or sensitives who speak to spirits and then relay what they hear to their clients. Clairvoyant, Danielle Egnew, is known for her alleged communication with angelic entities.
The other incarnation of non-physical mediumship is a form of channeling in which the channeler goes into a trance, or 'leaves their body'. He or she allows the spirit-person to borrow his/her body, who then talks through them. In the trance, the medium enters a cataleptic state marked by extreme rigidity. As the control spirit takes over, the medium's voice may change completely. The spirit answers the questions of those in its presence or giving spiritual knowledge. A widely known channeller of this variety is J. Z. Knight, who channels the spirit of Ramtha, a 30 thousand-year-old man. Others claim to channel spirits from 'future dimensions', ascended masters, or in the case of the trance mediums of the Brahma Kumaris, God. Other notable channels are Jane Roberts for Seth, Esther Hicks for Abraham, Margaret McElroy for Maitreya, Darryl Anka for Bashar, and Lee Carroll for Kryon.
Psychic Senses
In Spiritualism, psychic senses used by mental mediums are sometimes defined differently than in other paranormal fields. A medium is said to have psychic abilities but not all psychics function as mediums. The term 'Clairvoyance', for instance, may be used by Spiritualists to include seeing spirits and visions instilled by spirits. The Parapsychological Association defines 'Clairvoyance' as information derived directly from an external physical source.
Terms to become familiar with -
Attempts to contact the dead date back to early human history, with mediumship gaining in popularity during the 19th century. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by stage magicians—and the practice started to lose credibility. Nevertheless the practice still continues to this day, and high profile fraud has been uncovered as recently as the 2000's.
In recent years scientific research has been undertaken to ascertain the validity of claims of mediumship. In an experiment undertaken by the British Psychological Society, the conclusion was that the test subjects demonstrated no mediumistic ability. Other experiments which have seemingly found evidence of paranormal activity have been criticised for not establishing thorough test conditions. An experiment considered by parapsychologists to be one of the most compelling involved taking electroencephalography readings of twelve test subjects, most of which were found to have abnormal readings, with some readings bearing similarities to those found in epileptics even though the subjects had never experienced fits and had no family history of epilepsy. While mediumistic ability is neither confirmed or denied by unusual brain activity, the findings of the experiment was that parapsychological phenomena are at least partly a function of the brain.
In Spiritism and Spiritualism, the role of the medium is to be an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Mediums claim to be able to listen to and relay messages from spirits or allow a spirit to control their body and speak through it directly or by using automatic writing or drawing.
Spiritualists classify types of Mediumship into two main categories: "mental" and "physical". Mental mediums are believed to "tune in" to the spirit world by listening, sensing, or seeing spirits or symbols. Physical mediums are believed to produce materialization of spirits, apports of objects, levitation, and other effects such as knocking, rapping, bell ringing, etc. by using "ectoplasm" created from the cells of their bodies and those of seance attendees. During seances, mediums are said to go into trances, varying from light to deep, that permit their minds to be controlled by spirits.
Mediumship is also part of the belief system of some New Age groups. In this context, and under the name 'channelling', it refers to a medium (the channel) who is said to receive messages from a 'teaching-spirit'.
Spiritualism
Attempts to communicate with the dead and other living human beings, aka spirits, have been documented back to early human history. The story of the Witch of Endor tells of one who raised the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel to allow the Hebrew king Saul to question his former mentor about an upcoming battle, as related in the First book of Samuel in the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament).
Mediumship became quite popular in the 19th-century United States and the United Kingdom after the rise of Spiritualism as a religious movement. Modern Spiritualism is said to date from practices and lectures of the Fox sisters in New York State in 1848. The trance mediums Paschal Beverly Randolph and Emma Hardinge Britten were among the most celebrated lecturers and authors on the subject in the mid-19th century. Allan Kardec coined the term Spiritism around 1860. Kardec claimed that conversations with spirits by selected mediums were the basis of his 'The Spirits' Book and later, his five-book collection, Spiritist Codification.
After the exposure of the fraudulent use of stage magic tricks by physical mediums such as the Davenport Brothers and the Bangs Sisters, mediumship fell into disrepute. The practice continued among people who believed that the dead can be contacted and tried to do so. From the 1930s through the 1990s, as psychical Mediumship became less practised in Spiritualist churches, the technique of 'channelling' gained in popularity. Books by channellers who claimed to relate the wisdom of non-corporeal and non-terrestrial teacher/spirits became best sellers amongst believers.
Mental Mediumship
'Mental Mediumship' is communication of spirits with a medium by Telepathy. The medium mentally 'hears' (Clairaudience),'sees' (Clairvoyance), and/or feels (Clairsentience) messages from spirits. Directly or with the help of a spirit guide, the medium passes the information on to the message's recipient(s). When a medium is doing a 'reading' for a particular person, that person is known as the 'sitter'.
Trance Mediumship
Trance Mediumship is often seen as a form of Mental Mediumship. Most trance mediums remain conscious during a communication period, wherein a spirit uses the medium's mind to communicate. The spirit or spirits using the medium's mind influences the mind with the thoughts being conveyed. The medium allows the ego to step aside for the message to be delivered. At the same time, one has awareness of the thoughts coming through and may even influence the message with one's own bias. Such a trance is not to be confused with sleepwalking, as the patterns are entirely different, Castillo (1995) states,
Trance phenomena result from the behaviour of intense focusing of attention, which is the key psychological mechanism of trance induction. Adaptive responses, including institutionalized forms of trance, are 'tuned' into neural networks in the brain.
In the 1860s and 1870s, trance mediums were very popular. Spiritualism generally attracted female adherents, many who had strong interests in social justice. Many trance mediums delivered passionate speeches on abolitionism, temperance, and women's suffrage. Scholars have described Leonora Piper as one of the most famous trance mediums in the history of Spiritualism.
In the typical deep trance, the medium may not have clear recall of all the messages conveyed while in an altered state; such people generally work with an assistant. That person selectively wrote down or otherwise recorded the medium's words. Rarely did the assistant record the responding words of the sitter and other attendants. An example of this kind of relationship can be found in the early 20th century collaboration between the trance medium Mrs Cecil. M. Cook of the William .T. Stead Memorial Center in Chicago (a religious body incorporated under the statutes of the State of Illinois) and the journalist Lloyd Kenyon Jones. The latter was a non-medium Spiritualist who transcribed Cook's messages in shorthand. He edited them for publication in book and pamphlet form.
Physical Mediumship
'Physical Mediumship' is defined as manipulation of energies and energy systems by spirits.
Physical Mediumship may involve perceptible manifestations, such as loud raps and noises, voices, materialized objects, apports, materialized spirit bodies, or body parts such as hands, and levitation. The medium is used as a source of power for such spirit manifestations. By some accounts, this was achieved by using the energy or ectoplasm released by a medium, see Spirit photography. The last physical medium to be tested by a committee from Scientific American was Mina Crandon in 1924.
Most physical Mediumship is presented in a darkened or dimly lit room. Most physical mediums make use of a traditional array of tools and appurtenances, including spirit trumpets, spirit cabinets, and levitation tables.
The term 'Physical Mediumship', should not be construed as implying that any induced apport is confined to the physical plane. The apport (ectoplasm or whatever) may be composed of 'etheric', 'astral', 'mental', or 'causal' substance (i.e., a substance naturally residing on one of those planes and only temporarily transported into the physical plane). Instead, the term 'physical Mediumship, is employed to imply an effect manifested upon objects naturally existing on the physical plane, by means of interaction (merely physical, not chemical) with substance transported out (temporarily) of another plane of existence.
Direct Voice Communication
Direct voice communication involves spirits speaking independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the real and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as 'trumpet mediums'. This form of Mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. The British medium, Leslie Flint, is one of the best known exponents of this form of Mediumship.
Channelling
In the latter half of the 20th century, Western mediumship developed in two different ways. One type involves psychics or sensitives who speak to spirits and then relay what they hear to their clients. Clairvoyant, Danielle Egnew, is known for her alleged communication with angelic entities.
The other incarnation of non-physical mediumship is a form of channeling in which the channeler goes into a trance, or 'leaves their body'. He or she allows the spirit-person to borrow his/her body, who then talks through them. In the trance, the medium enters a cataleptic state marked by extreme rigidity. As the control spirit takes over, the medium's voice may change completely. The spirit answers the questions of those in its presence or giving spiritual knowledge. A widely known channeller of this variety is J. Z. Knight, who channels the spirit of Ramtha, a 30 thousand-year-old man. Others claim to channel spirits from 'future dimensions', ascended masters, or in the case of the trance mediums of the Brahma Kumaris, God. Other notable channels are Jane Roberts for Seth, Esther Hicks for Abraham, Margaret McElroy for Maitreya, Darryl Anka for Bashar, and Lee Carroll for Kryon.
Psychic Senses
In Spiritualism, psychic senses used by mental mediums are sometimes defined differently than in other paranormal fields. A medium is said to have psychic abilities but not all psychics function as mediums. The term 'Clairvoyance', for instance, may be used by Spiritualists to include seeing spirits and visions instilled by spirits. The Parapsychological Association defines 'Clairvoyance' as information derived directly from an external physical source.
Terms to become familiar with -
- Clairvoyance or 'Clear Seeing', is the ability to see anything that is not physically present, such as objects, animals or people. This sight occurs 'in the mind’s eye'. Some mediums say that this is their normal vision state. Others say that they must train their minds with such practices as meditation in order to achieve this ability, and that assistance from spiritual helpers is often necessary. Some clairvoyant mediums can see a spirit as though the spirit has a physical body. They see the bodily form as if it were physically present. Other mediums see the spirit in their mind's eye, or it appears as a movie or a television programme or a still picture like a photograph in their mind.
- Clairaudience or 'Clear Hearing', is usually defined as the ability to hear the voices or thoughts of spirits. Some Mediums hear as though they are listening to a person talking to them on the outside of their head, as though the Spirit is next to or near to the medium, and other mediums hear the voices in their minds as a verbal thought.
- Clairsentience or 'Clear Sensing', is the ability to have an impression of what a spirit wants to communicate, or to feel sensations instilled by a spirit.
- Clairsentinence or 'Clear Feeling' is a condition in which the medium takes on the ailments of a spirit, feeling the same physical problem which the spirit person had before death.
- Clairalience or 'Clear Smelling' is the ability to smell a spirit. For example, a medium may smell the pipe tobacco of a person who smoked during life.
- Clairgustance or 'Clear Tasting' is the ability to receive taste impressions from a spirit.
- Claircognizance or 'Clear Knowing', is the ability to know something without receiving it through normal or psychic senses. It is a feeling of just 'knowing'. Often, a medium will claim to have the feeling that a message or situation is right or wr ong.