What is clairvoyance

Clairvoyance, from 17th century French Clair meaningwould be unaware of anything he had said or done.
"clear" and voyant meaning "seeing", is a term used toThis behavior is somewhat reminiscent of the reported
describe the transference of information about anbehaviors of the 20th century medical clairvoyant and
object, location or physical event through means otherpsychic Edgar Cayce. It is reported that although
than the 5 traditional senses. A person said is to havePuységur used the term 'clairvoyance', he did not
Clairvoyance abilities is referred to as a clairvoyant.think of these phenomena as "paranormal," since he
Usageaccepted mesmerism as one of the natural sciences.
Within Parapsychology, clairvoyance is usedClairvoyance was a reported ability of some mediums
exclusively to refer to the transfer of information thatduring the spiritualist period of the late 19th and early
is both contemporary to, and hidden from, the individual20th centuries and was one of the phenomena studied
said to be receiving it. It is differentiated fromby members of the Society for Psychical Research
Telepathy in that the information is said to be gained(SPR). Psychics of many descriptions have claimed
directly from an external physical source, rather thanclairvoyant ability up to the present day.
being transfered from the mind of one individual toWhile experimental research into clairvoyance began
another.with SPR researchers, experimental studies became
Outside of parapsychology, Clairvoyance is sometimesmore systematic with the efforts of J. B. Rhine and his
mistakenly used to refer to other forms of Anomalousassociates at Duke University, and such research
cognition, most commonly the perception of eventsefforts continue to the present day. Perhaps the
that have occurred in the past, or which will occur inbest-known study of clairvoyance in recent times was
the future (known as retrocognition and precognitionthe US government-funded remote viewing project at
respectively), or to refer to communications with theSRI/SAIC during the 1970s through the mid-1990s.
dead (see Mediumship).Some parapsychologists have proposed that our
In some circles, clairvoyance is also known as remotedifferent functional labels (clairvoyance, telepathy,
viewing, although the term "remote viewing" itself is notprecognition, etc.) all refer to one basic underlying
as widely applicable as clairvoyance as it refers to amechanism, although there is not yet any satisfactory
specific controlled process.theory for what that mechanism may be.
Status of clairvoyanceDeveloping clairvoyant abilities
Within the field of Parapsychology, there is aCurrent thinking among proponents of clairvoyance
consensus that some instances of clairvoyance areposits that most people are born with clairvoyant
verifiable. There is also a measured level of belief fromabilities but then start to subliminate them as their
amongst the general public, with the portion of the USchildhood training compels them to adhere to
population who believe in clairvoyance varyingacceptable social norms. Numerous institutes offer
between 1/4 and 1/3 over the last 15 years.training courses attempt to revive the clairvoyant
Year Beliefabilities present in those early years.
1990 26%Another school of thought says that our "sixth sense"
2000 32%grows when we do spiritual practice. With regular
2005 26%spiritual practice done according to basic spiritual
The notion of clairvoyance also gained some supportprinciples we increase our "spiritual level" and are able
from the US and Russian government during and afterto perceive and experience the "subtle world" to
the Cold War, and both governments made severalgreater degrees. Clairvoyance is one of the abilities
attempts to harness clairvoyance as an intelligencethat may be gained by such discipline.
gathering tool.According to many Taoist- and Buddhist-related
According to skeptics, clairvoyance is the result ofpractices, abilities such as clairvoyance and many
fraud or self-delusion.other 'supernormal' abilities are by-products of spiritual
Clairvoyance and related phenomena through historyawakening and the realisation of divine consciousness.
There have been anecdotal reports of clairvoyanceIntegral to spiritual and mind expansion is breathwork
and 'clear' abilities throughout history in most cultures.and meditation. The vast majority of people only
These episodes are often reported as beingnormally use one-third of their brains and one-third of
experienced through early adulthood.[citation needed]their lungs. In Taoist and Buddhist thought this is not a
Often clairvoyance has been associated with religiouscoincidence. By expanding lung capacity and learning to
or shamanic figures, offices and practices. Foruse the lungs as a 'bellows' to direct qi around the
example, ancient Hindu religious texts list clairvoyancebody and open the subtle energy channels we also
amongst other forms of 'clear' experiencing, as siddhis,naturally expand the mind and refine consciousness.
or 'perfections', skills that are yielded throughThis is how these seemingly miraculous powers
appropriate meditation and personal discipline. But adevelop, though they are not truly miraculous. They are
large number of anecdotal accounts of clairvoyanceconsidered to be latent abilities that everyone
are of the spontaneous variety among the generalpossesses but need 'waking up.'
populace. For example, many people report seeing aSuch abilities in some schools of thought are
loved one who has recently died before they haveconsidered distractions from the true path of
learned by other means that their loved one isEnlightenment and can lead to the practitioner falling off
deceased. While anecdotal accounts do not providethe true path. The re-discovery of these energetic
scientific proof of clairvoyance, such commonabilities relies on the activation of the 'Dan Tien' that is
experiences continue to motivate research into suchthe central energy reservoir just below the navel.
phenomena.When the practitioner learns to 'turn' it and move it as if
Clairvoyance was one of the phenomena reportedlyit were a fifth limb then qi can begin to be pushed
observed in the behavior of somnambulists, peoplearound the body. The Dan Tien is strong as a baby
who were mesmerized and in a trance statebut quickly slows to a crawl as one ages. A major
(nowadays equated with hypnosis by most people) inpart of Taoist and Chinese Buddhist practice is learning
the time of Franz Anton Mesmer. The earliest recordto activate the Dan Tien once again. This may also
of somnambulistic clairvoyance is credited to theexplain why such abilities are a bit stronger as a child
Marquis de Puységur, a follower of Mesmer, whoand quickly disappear as one ages but can be
in 1784 was treating a local dull-witted peasant namedawakened again at any time by the proper practice of
Victor Race. During treatment, Race reportedly wouldarts such as Nei Gong and Qi Gong to expand the
go into trance and undergo a personality change,mindstream and spirit. There are many abilities that can
becoming fluent and articulate, and giving diagnosis andbe developed in this way — telepathy,
prescription for his own disease as well as those ofprediction, astral travel, pyrokinesis, telekinesis, levitation
others. When he came out of the trance state heand energetic healing.