I have to admit I hate the term psychic protection.

I feel it induces fear and opens the doorway for insecurities, superstition and encourages the need for ritual within an area of our lives which is as natural to us as the ability to breath.

Being psychic is natural and it is as natural as to us as breathing: we are all psychic. Having a sixth sense or a psychic ability allows us to be caring, sensitive people and so help those who need help without them having to ask for it.

It can also allow us to sense or feel which people are safe to be around and who we should avoid. It is also a deeper insight or awareness which helps us to work out what is right for our own life journey and what is wrong. Whether we listen to these instincts or not, well that is a different matter and is often how we learn life lessons.

As soon as we begin our psychic development, we are told we must protect ourselves.

It is drilled into us. It is drilled so well and so deeply that I can remember my very first (and last with this teacher) spiritual workshop as if it were yesterday. I still shudder at the memory.

"We must protect before and after each session. We must remain protected at all times!" I was told by a rather stern lady. And being inquisitive and keen, I felt I should ask what I was actually protecting myself against. Well, how would I ever know if I did not ask?

Only you see, if there were any green slime monsters going around then I would quite like to find one and keep it. I have sons and they love things like that. Dinosaurs, monsters, blood, guts, anything eating anything else and especially slime. Slime would be a definite bonus.

"Energies! You are protecting yourself against energies!" I was enthusiastically informed.

"What kind?" I inquired. Well, I was a science teacher...the good kind; the kind who is genuinely interested in what is going on around me...it is in my nature to ask questions. After all if we do not ask, then how do we learn?

"Negative energies!" came the reply in a voice laden with doom and dread.

I would have asked for greater details but by this time I realised everyone was glaring at me with annoyance and dare I say possibly a smidgen of negative energy.

I took the hint and settled back trying to remember if there was a physics lesson about negative energy I had missed. Now I have to say I am not a fan of physics. I am sure it has its place in the workings of life but generally speaking physics was just a lesson which we had to sit through before we got to escape to go and get lunch. I confess I often spent the entire hour planning what I would chose from the school canteen rather than pay attention to prisms and er...well, I know we definitely covered prisms. I am sure we must have covered more than this but I do feel I have just made my point rather well.

Burger on a bun, chips and gravy by the way was the usual choice of lunch just in case you were wondering.

And actually, thinking about physics lessons, with hindsight if we had been taught about negative energy I am sure I may well have paid more attention to the lesson and less to my potential lunch! It sounds so much more interesting than Prisms!

I decided that I did not particularly like spiritual workshops based upon fear and so very little fact or actual knowledge, so I never went back again.

After all, I had managed these 30 or so years without being protected and I had not once seen a green slime monster. I would have remembered. I would have probably picked it up and sneaked it into my bedroom along with a host of other beasties which I felt the need to 'rescue' and hide from my Mother.

There were usually at least three aniimals/birds/bugs etc within my tiny 8 ft by 12 ft bedroom all under orders to remain quiet, not eat each other and certainly no poop. They rarely listened to me.

I am sure by now you realise that my sons get their love of nature and gore from their biologist mother.

To this day however I hate with an absolute passion the phrase 'psychic protection'.

Why do I dislike the term so much?

Glad you asked.

I dislike it because in using the actual word 'protection' we are implying that there is something negative out there which is out to get us that we need protecting from and this simply is not true.

We are in fact using suggestive words with very negative connotations to explain a process which is actually pretty amazing and an important part of our psychic development. I will explain but first let’s change that horrible phrase straight away to one which is more comforting, nicer and maybe even ever-so slightly positive. I am sure it is possible if we try. How about psychic padding? There. Doesn't that feel different?

Softer and gentler perhaps?

Psychic padding is needed to help buffer us from the energies of those around us and indeed to buffer others from our own energies: particularly before we develop to an advanced level where we understand what being psychic means.

We need psychic padding at first simply because we are very aware of the energies around us. As psychics we are 'sensitives' and it is these energies to which we are sensitive. See. That is not too complicated now is it and even better, it is fear-free.

If we are surrounded by people having a bad day then we can feel this negativity. We often find we feel what others are experiencing emotionally and this can leave us feeling overwhelmed. We take on their emotions as their energies enter our auras and of course that can be confusing. We could be having a perfectly lovely day for example and yet we feel cross and grumpy for apparently no reason at all.

Typically any person with a higher than average level of psychic ability will find they can tell what mood a person is within Milli seconds of being in their company. They will hate crowds which can leave them stressed and irritated. For many psychics, going into a supermarket on a Saturday afternoon can be akin to torture.

People who are psychic may find they have a great empathy for people and a sad tale can leave them in floods of tears. All very emotional and you will notice all very negative. This is because we are programmed by society to expect the worse.

I will also add a few pointers here.

* A very psychic person will feel extremely thrilled and happy for others when they do well:

* A conversation with someone who is in a great mood can set a psychic person up for the day.

* Dancing and singing can leave a psychic person exuberant and cheerful.

So you see, it is not all bad.

What we need when we first begin to open up to our ability is to find balance between what we want to feel, and what we actually feel.

Part of this comes from learning about our own abilities. It helps if we understand what being psychic actually entails. Psychic is simply an ability to read energy through our aura. The aura is the energy field which surrounds us (electromagnetic in case you were wondering) and everything gives of energy of this type, of one frequency or another.

I consider the aura our first port of self defense. We use it to work out which people are nice and which are not before we even exchange words with them.

As we are programmed by society and our own need to survive, it would make sense then that we are more open to feel moods and feelings which are most likely to affect our survival chances.

We recognise the negative emotions of others before the positive simply because that is most relevant to our survival. We are more likely to need to be forewarned about someone who is feeling the need to lash out or want to fight in order to avoid the battle then be forewarned a man wishes to buy flowers for his lovely wife.

This unfortunately means that for many of us, our initial recognition of psychic abilities is that we can tell when people feel angry or sad. We then carry that energy with us so we also feel angry and sad. Because we do not understand what is happening or why, we feel that this energy is negative or even evil. Of course it isn't: we are simply multiplying the effects of the moods of others with our own fears and insecurities.

If we have always been aware of having psychic abilities but have not understood what it really means to be psychic or what the mechanics of being psychic are then of course it can be quite frightening and exhaustive.

Because of this fear of the unknown, our aura becomes even more vulnerable to what is going on around us and so we become trapped in an ever increasing circle of negativity.

A weak aura which is not running at full capacity, maybe because of illness, upset or just feeling low is more likely to leave you feeling vulnerable to the energies of others around you.

As a result we become even more sensitive to the moods of others around us, and so on it goes: more and more negative or more and more unbalanced as we feel highs and lows out of the range of normal emotions. It is a little like being a human yoyo, constantly moving up or down according to the moods of others.

As well as our own ability to pick up on the emotions of others, we often forget that those around us will be very sensitive to our own excitement and insecurities. As well as being extra able to feel what others give off in their auras, we give off our own feelings much more powerfully. So while you may feel one person's sadness, many people may feel your emotions. And so we may feel the need for 'psychic padding'.

Don't forget though this is a two way process: if you are in a foul mood then perhaps it is also just as important to protect others from what you are feeling. Hence padding is a better term than protection.

So, how can we pad ourselves and buffer the effects of all those emotions walking past us? After all, if we never get past the third aisle of the supermarket then there is a serious risk of nutritional imbalance depending on what your store stocks in those first three aisles.

There are several techniques and these are just a few examples. Take what suits you and leave what doesn't.

For example, you can simply relax and envision a bright white light falling down on to the crown chakra and then visualise it forming a ball around you. Set this ball of light with the intention that it will keep you safe from the negative moods of others. You can also just put out the intention that you are a wonderful person and cannot be dragged down by others. Manifestation is a wonderful thing. And of course you can ask your guides and the angels for extra help and support.

Any crystal can be programmed to keep you feeling free from the emotions of other people. A crystal can absorb any extremes of emotions and be programmed to release the build up in a safe manner which will not have any effect upon your own aura. As we develop and become more confident in ourselves, our aura strengthens and as is does you will find yourself needed psychic padding less and less or only with certain people. You are able to control what gets in and what doesn't. How we act is what we attract.

I have heard this a lot. So by that theory as soon as we use the term protection and become obsessed by the idea of being 'protected' aren't we inviting the very idea that we should have something to be protected from? So let’s act positively and attract wonderful things. Of course, for me and my sons, that does include a green slime monster (yet to be found) but I will assume for most of you that love and light is a greater requirement.

Finally, the concept of 'dumps of negative energy' have arisen with people being told that we can physically drop lumps of negative energy around, ready for innocent people to walk into and then 'absorb' this negativity.

Now I am not a physicist but I do have a lot of science in my background.

Energy comes in several forms:

* Kinetic
* Thermal
* Light
* Electromagnetic
* Potential
*

So which would negative energy come under? If perhaps you can class it as electromagnetic, explain to me how you can dump a pile of electromagnetic energy in one place within a room? And how could we put a solid lump of energy anywhere? Even if we did, the kinetic energy of the air molecules will soon waft it away...should it exist! I do not think I need to go further with this one do I?

When we work psychically we work on an energy to energy basis: aura to aura. That is what psychic ability is and we cannot just abandon negativity. We can feel it, sense it, help correct it and cheer people up or even raise our own mood and vibrational energy but I have yet to work out how to leave a stock pile of negative energy.

Remember, if we feel well and happy then our auras become strong and bright. As a result we are less likely to be effected by the moods of others. We can still sense and empathize with how someone feels but we do not carry it with us.

We only tend to carry the emotions of others because we are usually feeling vulnerable in the first place so perhaps instead of worrying about the effects of others upon you, try to work out why you are feeling this way. What can you do to improve your own happiness and well being? And if there is what you feel is a bad atmosphere anywhere, then raise the vibrations yourself: sing, dance, tell a rude joke, laugh, use a smudge stick (watch out for smoke alarms and fire hazards;-) or add some green plants and a few crystals. Very simply, very effective.

I personally do not believe we should shield all of the time. The aura and our psychic abilities work to help us to survive after all. They let us know if someone is not being honest, is feeling insecure and needs help or can help us know if someone is really up to no good. Is that something we want to buffer all the time?

We as humans are social organisms. When we do not communicate by words (which is actually a lot of the time) we are communicating through our auras. We sense when someone needs extra support or a hug: we can tell if someone is upset or angry and we can share in someone’s joy and love of life. Isn't that an amazing thing?

Saying that however, I am living my own life journey. Your are living yours and whether or not you psychically pad is entirely up to you. I always give people in my circle to option whether or not to protect. It is a personal choice. Remember, this is your life journey: your development. The only person who can tell you whether or not you need psychic padding is YOU.

The choice is yours and yours alone. There are no rights or wrongs.

Written by G. French, Psychic, Medium, Host of www.irelandinspirit.com, Teacher and Moderator for the Heidi Sawyer Institute for Psychic Development Forum and of course, Hunter of Green Slime Monsters.
http://www.irelandinspirit.com

Author's Bio: 

It is time to accept our psychic gifts which are as natural to us as breathing air and remove the superstition and ritual which are simply a method of control using fear and ignorance to hold people back.

We are all psychic, and I am also blessed with the gift of mediumship and a very logical mind. I need to understand how I work and I am sure you do to. Take what ever feels truly right to you from this article, and leave that which you do not want.