Tapping the Well: Introductory Tips for Intuition and Communication

One thing I see a lot of talk about on pagan and heathen forums is the process of communicating with the gods and spirits. I often see comments by individuals which claim they simply cannot "talk" to the gods, see spirits, or have some other sort of blockage when it comes to communicating with the divine and other spirit entities. Other times one reads outlandish claims from those who believe they are an open conduit to the gods, have special relationships with them, or claim the gods even stop by for tea and sex on occasion. In my opinion there is a fine line between sense and nonsense, and I won't focus on the latter here. The point of this post is for those who feel they simply cannot communicate with the non physical in any way.

I will be honest and say that in my experience, I don't believe there is anyone outside of those with mental issues who actually cannot communicate with the divine or spiritual realms. What I see more often is simply a confusion about HOW to communicate, and how one tells the difference between imagination and intuition.
Some have natural abilities, and some do not. Some find it easy to communicate, others have worked for years to develop their abilities. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, I believe there are things one can do to focus and heighten their abilities, like any other ability one might have.

Today I just want to focus on a few tips and rudimentary exercises to get you started, or even supplement your already existing practices. So Here Goes.

Imagination

In my experience, this concept is one that needs to be addressed before continuing. So often I hear people ask,

 how do I tell if what I experience is actually from the gods, and not just my imagination?

When I see this question asked, I know instantly what the blockage is. People raised in mainstream monotheistic religions (like nearly all of us) often experience self doubt when it comes to our intuition as we progress into a pagan or heathen religious belief system. As children, our spiritual senses and experiences are stifled by those who raise us out of fear of dogmatic notions of good and evil, and our spiritual experiences and emotional reactions to them are pushed aside simply as a result of our "overactive imaginations." Instead of an open minded communication with our elders about what we feel, see, experience and what it may mean, we are simply pushed aside and expected to repress such experiences as imagination or fantasy. As we grow older we realize this process is so ingrained in society that if we express similar notions to our peers, we are met with similar derisiveness. Over time we simply stifle the intuition to avoid being seen as an outsider or abnormal. 

When converting to paganism or heathenism, remember it takes time to get in touch with these natural abilities which have been repressed and stifled for most of our childhood and sometimes adulthood as well. For some the intuition emerges in adulthood, for others it takes work to uncover the intuitive abilities which have been buried over the years by fear and doubt. 

My advice is to make it a point to repell such analytical thoughts when attempting to tap into one's intuition. It is much more helpful to simply experience with a calm and clear mind whatever messages you might receive, or whatever wanderings upon which your mind may take you. Reflection afterward is much more rewarding to understanding ones experience, rather than attempting to analyze a spiritual experience as it happens. 

In other words, stop focusing on whether or not the experience is imagination or from an outside source, and just be in the experience!

Simple Exercises

1. Sensory Deprivation, Sight

For most of us, sight is the sense we rely on the most. Many even live by the doctrine "seeing is believing." However this kind of sense reliance can be detrimental to getting in touch with our more subtle intuitive senses. Sight deprivation is a simple exercise one can do to enhance your ability to feel and sense the energy around one which is is non visual in nature. This technique is well known in the heathen community with historically documented practices such as cloaking or "utiseta", or sitting out. 

This is an exercise I often do when traveling as a passenger in a car, or just sitting out on the patio. I find it works even better in areas in which we know well, and have a mental map of the surroundings. 

Simply close your eyes and feel what is going on around you. If you are in a car, you might try and see if you can sense any shapes or energies around you and try to sense where you are without sight. Try to sense what  is around you without sight. Do you sense movement? Do you sense shapes, or solid matter versus open space? 

Now focus on the space where you know there is a familiar object, maybe a rock or tree, anything solid and preferably natural. You know its there without seeing it. You can sense its solidness, its shape. Now simply focus on the energy it gives naturally. Is it defined or blurry? Do you sense and aura about the object? Any feeling or emotions? Practice this with as many different natural objects as possible around you, all without sight. You want to do this until you have a sense of how different objects have a different feeling in comparison to others. 

Also, do not be surprised if you feel things unexpectedly while doing this. You may get impressions of emotions, a sense of pressure or weight, or any number of sensations. You might be surprised to find how human experiences and emotions often leave a lasting impact on the natural environment long after the event. You may feel pockets of floating energy or emotions which are simply wandering in the wind. You may even feel a presence or as if you are being watched. This could be anything from a spirit, to natural wight, or even  the fae. 

The core of this is being able to sense the energy signatures of objects in nature. If you do sense a presence, it is best at this point to simply move on to another object. Most likely it is just a curious onlooker wondering what in the world the funny looking human is doing. 

2. Hand exercises: Energy Transmission

There is a reason that the hand and its image is seen in pictoral art from pagan cultures throughout the globe. In some cultures, the image if the hand is even considered sacred. The mudras, or hand gestures used in representations of the Buddha in certain sects can communicate an exchange of energy or even a whole legend behind the gestures. The hands are what we use to give and take, both physically and energetically. Using the hands to dense and manipulate energy is a powerful method of learning to sense energy, and in turn heighten our powers of receptivity. 

One of the simplest ways to get in touch with our personal energy is to simple close your eyes and feel the life force in a specific area of the body. If you concentrate beyond the realm of touch, you can feel the simple life force in your body. By focusing on the hands, this becomes easier to sense as the hands are natural receptors and givers of both physical and spiritual energy.

Close your eyes and try to simply sense the life force of them. Slowly flex your fingers and feel the energy of movement. Find a stone and feel that energy as it meets the surface of the stone. See if you can sense a difference between your own living energy and that of the stone.

Once you begin to be able to sense differences in energy, then you can begin trying to interact with energy forms around you.

3. Land wights and Ancestors: Building relationships

There seems to be this strange idea in neopaganism that a neophyte can simply jump in headfirst, demand an audience with the gods, and be automatically give some sort of favor or knowledge simply for showing up. This is why I believe that an in depth personal study of the function of pagan religion in the lives of past cultures is important. When we know mythology we only know one half of the practice. We know why but not HOW.

The study of ritual, ceremony, and practical religion gives us the knowledge to approach the gods in a way that is acceptable to them. If you are having trouble communicating with the gods, perhaps it would be better to focus on spirits which are more accessible, such as land wights and ancestors. These wights can be our best allies ad messengers, as there welfare and our own are more closely connected.

Small offerings, land blessings, and acts of honor and remembrance are the best place to start. Simply picking up trash in the park or starting a small organic garden can be acts of devotion to nature. Develop those relationships first, and you are much more likely to find yourself n audience with the gods.

In Frith
Cena