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Psychometry a Way to Enhance Psychic Abilities

I have always wondered how people pick up information from objects.  It was something I would have loved to be able to do, but didn’t think I had the ability.  I read up on it, watched others do it, studied it as part of various courses, but never allowed myself to try it.  Then I attended a workshop on psychometry given by my very psychically gifted friend, Sheila Trecartin.

Sheila has a knack for opening up even the most stubborn students.  During the workshop, I was surprised to find myself picking up information as I held various objects in my hand.  I was not even holding the item itself—I was holding an envelope that contained the item I was supposed to examine. 

Of course, not all the information I came up with scored a hit.  Some of it was well out in left field.  But I did manage to come up with specific information about the items and the item’s owners to impress myself with the results.  I found myself wondering how I knew something and from where the information was coming.

What was helpful with the exercises we did in the workshop was that we received immediate feedback about the impressions we received.  The owners of the items were other students in the class.  Each of us was instructed to put an item into an envelope, which Sheila numbered.  Sheila was the only one who knew what was in the envelopes and to whom the items belonged.

Of course, it’s usually not difficult to ascertain by touch or by viewing the shape that presses against the envelope just what is in it.  So some of the items weren’t that mysterious, as far as determining what they were. 

But the magic happens when you start to receive information about the item or the item’s owner that you can’t possibly have known.  One item I held showed me an image of one of the participants riding a horse.  I immediately knew whom the item belonged to, and yes, she rides horses. 

In another exercise, Sheila set out objects on the floor and took turns holding them and receiving information from them.  Some of these items were antiques, and this type of object always comes with an interesting story attached to it. 

When I visit antique stores, I enjoy practicing my psychometry by picking up objects and waiting to see what comes up.  The problem with doing that, though, is there is no way to validate the information received. 

Psychometry is an excellent way to exercise your psychic muscles.  Sometimes I find that holding an object makes receiving information easier than if I just try to open up and receive information without any aid.  So if you are trying to improve your psychic abilities and haven’t tried psychometry, then I recommend it.

A few excellent books to get you started:

You are Psychic, by Debra Lynne Katz

Do Psychic Readings Through Touch, by Ted Andrews

The Psychic Pathway, by Sonia Choquette

 

Not all of the above books are specifically about psychometry, but they are a good resource if you are dabbling in it.  

Books are great, but nothing propels you forward like hands-on practice.  If you can attend a workshop or meetup on psychometry, then it will give you confidence to continue practicing. 

Seeing Ghosts

About a week before Christmas, I woke up early one morning (around 6:00 AM) with the impression that I heard someone say my name.  I then had a strong feeling that someone was in the room standing near my bed.  I opened my eyes and looked over towards the door.  There was a man standing there.

Fear struck first, as I thought in horror that someone had broken into our house.  I immediately thought of my granddaughter, who sleeps in the room next to ours, but then remembered she had climbed into bed with us around 4:00 AM.  I sat up, and then realized that now whoever was in the room would know that I was awake.  I wondered if I should scream.  It was at that point that I realized I could see the light fixture through his head.

He stood with head in hands, and I got a feeling of despair.  I noted that he had curly hair, and that he appeared to be wearing a uniform.  I thought perhaps he was a soldier, but then decided the uniform was perhaps dark blue and more like something a mechanic would wear.  I squinted and blinked, and kept repeating to myself, "I'm not dreaming.  I'm not dreaming."  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Slowly, he faded away.  I looked over at my husband and granddaughter to see if either one of them had perhaps awakened to witness this apparition, but they were both fast asleep.  I looked back to where the man had been standing, and he was there again.  I tried to focus and see if I couldn't make him morph into the dream catcher hanging from the light fixture after all, proving that I was really just seeing shadows in the dark.  It was incredible to me that I should be seeing this.  I've never seen a ghost before, and found it difficult to believe that they could really appear so distinctly. 

But there he stood, head in hands.  Curly brown hair.  Uniform.  Light fixture showing faintly through his head.  And there was that feeling of despair again. 

I silently asked, "What do you want?" 

In response, he slowly began to fade away, and I felt sorry that I would never know where he came from and what he was doing in my bedroom at the approach of dawn a few days before Yule. 

In the days following, I had one friend ask if I'd noticed the increase in spirit activity the closer we got to Yule.  I was surprised to hear this, as I thought that Beltane and Samhain were the traditional times for the veil between the worlds to thin and spirit activity to increase.  My friend explained that there are more deaths around Christmas, and that would account for more spirits appearing at this time. 

Whether she is correct or not I don't know, but I do know that my father died right after Christmas in 2005, and my friend also lost her father around Christmas.  I have also never seen a spirit before, and, while I can't say for sure that that is what I saw, if there is another explanation for it, I can't think of it.  Was it just a coincidence that I saw him at this time?

Shortly after that, another friend called to ask me if I had been doing more mediumship lately.  She said that she had a couple of friends call her to say that they had been seeing more spirits lately, and that they were seeing spirits from far away.  Of course I told her my story and we both thought it was interesting.

Our house is situated very close to a cemetery.  I can see the headstones on the hills behind the house.  It's a beautiful and not a morbid view.  I love to walk there, because it is so peaceful and lovely.  Perhaps this young man came from there.  Perhaps he was from far away, as my friend suggested. 

One person pointed out to me that I'd heard my name as I awoke, but I don't know if that was perhaps part of a dream, as I was pulling out of sleep as I heard my name, but it was when I was awake that I felt someone in the room and saw the young man.  He resembled someone I knew years ago, but as far as I know, that person is still alive.

I wish I could have connected with him, and helped him.  I did ask for help for him from the angels, and so hope that he found his way to where he is supposed to be.  But I guess I will never know.

Premonitions for the Old Bank Bistro Paranormal Investigation

I attended a paranormal investigation at the Old Bank Bistro in Fort Erie at the end of April.  It was organized by the Paranormal Investigation Society of Toronto (yes, its acronym is PIST).  The investigation itself was a lot of fun and a great experience.  The food there was good, and I met a lot of nice people.  But the real amazing stuff happened for me before I arrived at the Old Bank Bistro itself.

Anyone who watches the Rescue Mediums on television is familiar with their routine.  Each of the two psychic ladies will try to get some psychic impressions about the place they will be investigating and create a list of the premonitions that they receive.  They are not told anything about the location or the occupants or what spirits might be haunting it.  So, their lists are based on nothing but pure psychic connection.

I thought that was a great idea, and suggested to my husband and paranormal partner in crime that we try that for ourselves.  We had been provided a few details on the investigation beforehand, though it was not a lot of information.  I hadn't read all the details on it.  I only knew that we were going to investigate a restaurant that was purported to be haunted by the former owner, who owned the property when it was a bank. 

We both came up with a list of items and read them out to each other.  I had no idea how we'd verify any of it, but I thought that the things that I picked up were interesting.  Among other things, when I focused on the former owner and how he died, I picked up that he had stomach cancer.  I also saw a laneway or alleyway between the bank and the building next to it. 

When we arrived at the Bistro, I was a little disappointed to see that there was no laneway between the buildings.  I wondered again how we'd be able to verify any of the items we had on our lists.  As it turns out, there was a historian there who had dug into the history of the building and of the former owner, and she was able to verify for me almost everything on my list. 

Richard, the bank's owner and the Bistro's resident ghost, did indeed have stomach cancer when he died.  His birth record says he died of an accidental gunshot wound, but the suspicion was that he shot himself when he could no longer endure the pain of his stomach cancer.  When I was trying to tap into him to get a sense of how he died, I felt excruciating stomach pain and received the thought "stomach cancer." 

I've learned in the time that I've been practicing with mediumship, that one of the things I seem to get most easily is bodily sensations of what the spirit to whom I'm connecting felt.  Sometimes I will also get an accompanying thought or image that provides some more details, but usually the sensation of their pain says it all.

When I mentioned to the historian that I had also seen a laneway or alleyway between the bank and the building next to it, she laughed and said, "You're standing in it."  The Bistro had incorporated the laneway into the restaurant, and when I looked more closely around the narrow room in which we were standing, I was able to see that we were indeed standing in what had been an alleyway between this building and the one next to it.

Other interesting "hits" on my list were the name Eliza/Liza.  Richard's mother's name was Elizabeth, and a common nickname at the time was Eliza or Liza.  I also had received an impression of Richard himself - that he considered himself a "gentleman" and always dressed very elegantly and very businesslike.  He also had his hair slicked back and a prominent mustache.  When the historian showed me a picture with Richard in it, I recognized the man I had seen in my impression.

An "impression" is not a clear image, which is why I refer to it as an impression.  I know what the complete image looks like, but it's not as if I'm looking at a clear photo.  Thoughts tend to also flow in with impressions to round out the information I'm getting.

There was more information that I got, most of which the historian was able to verify, some of which she was not able to verify.  After all of that, though, everything else seemed anti-climactic, though I did enjoy the investigation.  With all the living people milling around, though, it seemed to me that the ghosts made themselves pretty scarce. 

Still, it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening and I'd love to go back to the Old Bank Bistro just to have lunch or dinner there again.  They don't have much to offer off the menu if you are trying to eat vegan, which I do when I'm doing paranormal work, but the very nice waitress was able to accommodate me and place a special order for me.  My fellow investigators also made the evening worth the price of admission - especially the historian.