Glossary of Terms

A
Affirmation - Creating a reality or truth through frequent repetition and focus.
Akashic records - A ‘cosmic memory bank’ where everything that has occurred in the universe is stored. Includes details of every soul and every life ever lived.
Apparition - A spirit with an image that can be seen and can interact with its observer.
Archtetypes - Common themes arising from the collective unconscious and appearing repeatedly as symbols in myths and dreams.
Astral body - A ‘second self’ consisting of subtle energy encasing the physical body.
Astral projection - Separation of the conscious mind from the physical body usually during a sleeplike state, enabling one to float above oneself and view one’s own physical body.
Astral travel - A step beyond astral projection where one travels to a different location while conscious that one is not in one’s physical body.
Astrology - A form of divination that studies the positions of heavenly bodies to determine their influence on human affairs.
Aura - A subtle energy field of electromagnetic energy surrounding every living being.
Automatic writing - Writing that occurs during an altered state of consciousness where the rational mind is shut off and the intuitive mind is active.

B
Bilocation - Being in two places at the same time.

C
Chakras - Centers of energy throughout the body. Seven major chakras exist between the base of the spine and the crown of the head.
Channeling - Receiving information from the spiritual, psychic or unseen realms and passing this information on to others. Communicating with spirits.
Chanting - Repetitive singing of a simple melody or a few monotonous notes, used to help attain a deeper spiritual state.
Chi - Universal energy that flows through the body’s vital organs, bones, bloodstream, and other parts. A term used in Chinese and Japanese (ki) medicine.
Clairaudience - An ability to hear sounds not available to the physical ear; ability to hear spirit noises, voices and other sounds.
Clairsentience - ‘clear feeling’; the ability to experience emotions belonging to other people as though they’re happening to you; psychometry is a form of clairsentience.
Clairvoyance - An ability to perceive things that cannot be seen with the physical eye; ability to see spirits.
Collective unconscious - Carl Jung’s belief that there is an inherited level of mind that contains ideas, symbols, and archetypes that form the world’s myth and belief systems.
Cosmic energy - Energy that originates from the air, sun, atmosphere, spiritual realm, or God.
Creative visualization - Mentally creating a visual image in order to promote a specific desired outcome.

D
Discernment - In telepathy, the ability to discriminate between personal desires and intuitive information.
Distant healing - Energy healing that occurs through directed thought of a telepath/healer even when the patient is not present.
Divination - Foretelling future events through prophecy, intuition, or other supernatural means.
Dowsing - Ability to locate underground water and other material through use of a pendulum.

E
Earth energy - Energy that originates from within the earth.
Exorcism - The act of expelling an unwanted spirit through religious ceremony.
Extrasensory perception (ESP) - Perceiving information through means other than the five physical senses.

F
Faith - Belief in an outcome before the outcome occurs.
Feng shui - An ancient Chinese philosophy that a harmonious environment creates positive energy.

G
Gaia hypothesis - The idea that the earth is its own entity, an enormous biological system embodying a single organism.
Ghost - The soul of a disembodied spirit that wanders among the living.
Guardian angel - Loving spiritual beings who help guide people throughout their lives.
Guided imagery - Directed meditation that uses the imagination in a focused, directed way to achieve goals and heal the mind and body.

H

Haunting - A repeated perception of an image (sight, sound, or sense of movement ) of a past event. An energy imprint of a past event.
Hypnosis - An altered mental state characterized by intense focus, resulting in a heightened susceptibility to suggestion.
Hypnotherapist - A hypnotist trained to help people explore deeply buried information in order to understand and change their life patterns.
Hypnotist - A trained expert who directs and leads a client through a hypnotic trance.

I
I Ching - An ancient Chinese book of divination based on creating pairs of eight basic symbols and the interpretation of these symbols.
Imagination - The act or power of creating pictures or ideas in the mind.
Incarnation - A lifetime in a particular body.
Intention - Focus with a desired outcome.


K
Karma - The collection of consequences for one’s prior conduct in either the present life or previous incarnations.
Kirlian photography - Heat-sensitive photography that records information not available to the physical eye; used to visually record auras.
Knowingness - A psychic ability located in the crown chakra (7th chakra) in which a person instantaneously knows information as thought without gaining that information through other means.

L

Levitation - A phenomenon where objects, people, and animals lift into the air without any physical means of support.
Lucid dreaming - An awareness during dreaming where the dreamer consciously realizes he/she is dreaming and can then control the course of the dream.

M
Mandala - A schematic drawing of the cosmos characterized by a concentric arrangement of geometric shapes. Jung believed that mandalas hold extraordinary power because they are sacred images that represent the integrated psyche. Sanskrit for ‘circle’- the circle of life on a cosmic scale.
Mantra - A word or formula that is recited repeatedly. This sound is intended to resonate through the body and evoke certain energies during meditation.
Materialization - Making an object appear from nowhere.
Medical intuitive - A psychic whose focus is the physical body and its ailments and the cause, cure, and connection between an illness of the body and the mind or spirit of the person.
Meditation - The act of inward focus for the purpose of clearing one’s mind and/or achieving a certain state of mind. A technique for improving one’s life, promoting healing and getting through difficult situations.
Medium - A channeler; someone who communicates with spirits and/or is an instrument through which a spirit can manifest itself.
Meridians - In ancient Chinese medicine, pathways that carry chi (life force energy) through the body.
Metaphysics - Philosophy that examines the nature of reality, existence, and the structure of the universe.

N
Near-death experience (NDE) - An occurrence where a person considered dead experiences a vivid awareness of separating from his/her body. He/she revives and recounts the experience.
Nonlocal reality - The concept that events that are distant still have a local effect.
Nonlocality - The idea that a thing or thought is not located in a specific space and time. The mind is not limited to given points in space or time, such as the present.

O
Out-of-body experience (OBE) - An occasion when a person’s consciousness departs from the physical body, allowing him/her to observe from a point of view that transcends the physical body and physical senses.

P
Paranormal - Beyond the range of scientifically known phenomena.
Parapsychology - The branch of psychology that studies psychic experiences and the perception of information beyond the boundaries of space, time, and the five senses.
Past-life regression therapy - Therapy that uses regression to explore the emotional and physical in order to recognize and release past life problems deeply connected to present life issues.
Poltergeist - a form of psychokinesis that is generated unconsciously by a person with intense, unacknowledged emotions. German, meaning ‘noisy ghost’. Not all cases of poltergeist activity are due to this psychokinesis; sometimes a spirit is involved.
Prayer - A solemn and humble intention to communicate in word or thought with a divine force.
Precognition - Perception of future events before they happen.
Premonition - A precognitive sense of danger or forewarning of an unfortunate future event.
Projection - A psychological term referring to the attribution of personal emotions or traits on another in order to avoid facing one’s own feelings or traits.
Prophecy - Foreknowledge that comes in the form of a vision or dream.
Psychic attack - An occasion when someone willfully and consciously directs negative energy toward another person; usually does not come from someone with developed psychic skills.
Psychokinesis - The ability to use the mind to move objects without touching them.
Psychometry - The ability to touch an object and through picking up the vibrations of the object, tap into the past of it and its owner.

R
Reflexology - Hands-on healing based on the principal that every part of the body communicates with a reference point on the foot, hand, and ear.
Reiki - Hands-on healing where a trained practitioner places his/her hands on six points of the body, stimulating energy flow throughout the body.
Reincarnation - The belief that after death, a person is reborn into another life time.
Remote viewing - The ability to view a person, place or object located some distance away beyond the physical range of sight.
Retrocognition - Perception of past events through intuitive knowledge.

S
Scrying - A type of divination through the use of clairvoyance; the reader stares into a reflective surface while meditating.
Séance - A meeting or session where a channeler attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead.
Skeptic - A person who questions the validity of something purported to be factual and tends to maintain a doubting attitude.
Spirit - the essence of a person.
Spontaneous drawing - Producing visual images or pictures on paper during an altered state of consciousness when the rational mind is shut off and the intuitive mind is active.

T
Tarot - A form of divination using a special deck of 78 cards.
Telepathy - The communication of thoughts and/or feelings between minds without using the five senses.
Third eye - The center of one’s clairvoyance; corresponds to the sixth chakra in the middle of the forehead.
Trance - An altered state of consciousness involving complete mental absorption.