Claircognizance: What It Is and How to Develop It
Defining Claircognizance
Claircognizance is defined as knowledge that is acquired psychically. It can also be called intuition or inner knowing, but these words can be misleading.
Intuition is often defined as an instinctive knowing rather than rational cogitation. Instinct, however is a primal function of our nervous systems and is related to survival.
In an earlier blog post, I discussed Gabor Maté’s teaching about the Three Ways of Knowing.
Here I want to talk about information that is perceived without the use of rational thought, that arrives suddenly, clairvoyantly.
In this post, I’ll teach you how to discern between your own thoughts and claircognizant thoughts.
Rational Thoughts
Have you ever studied your thoughts as they pass through your mind all day? Have you noticed what type of thoughts you usually think?
Here are the three types of thoughts I notice in myself frequently:
Thinking about a physical or emotional stimulus. For example: I’m hungry, angry, or in pain. These are simple thoughts in themselves, but they can trigger a whole lot of commentary and evaluation.
Abstract thinking or problem-solving. For example: I want to write a blog post about claircognizance. First, I have to think about what I want to say, then I have to make an outline, and then I have to write it, all complex problem-solving tasks.
Imagination or creativity. For example, I want to write a poem. How can I use my imagination to create a scene? What are some creative ways to use language?
The first two types of thinking are very rational, whereas the third can straddle both rational and non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Many mindfulness practices encourage you to swat away thoughts in meditation by just labelling your thoughts, “thinking.” This is a helpful practice to observe yourself in the act of thinking. It acknowledges the power of our intellects and brains. But it doesn’t offer any information about the nature of thoughts and thinking.
How Yogis Define the Mind and Consciousness in Sanskrit
The Hindu mystical practice of yoga defines the universe, or manifest creation as satchitananda, or what Paramhansa Yogananda called “ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss.” This means that everything in the universe is made up of the substance of divine consciousness which is always re-experiencing itself and this self-experience is blissful.
Within our human mind, we have four conscious functions:
In these yogic teachings we find a definition for universal consciousness as well as the conscious function of our individual selves. But how do these two conscious “minds” interface? Can we really say that our thoughts are our own?
Thoughts and Divine Consciousness
There is another important teaching about consciousness brought forward by Guru Paramhansa Yogananda and that is that “thoughts are universally and not individually rooted.”
Here is the full text, from Chapter 15 of Autobiography of a Yogi:
All thoughts vibrate eternally in the cosmos. By deep concentration, a master is able to detect the thoughts of any mind, living or dead. Thoughts are universally and not individually rooted; a truth cannot be created, but only perceived. The erroneous thoughts of man result from imperfections in his discernment. The goal of yoga science is to calm the mind, that without distortion it may mirror the divine vision in the universe.
What this means is that all thoughts, even the ones that seem to originate only within ourselves actually originate within an omniscient divine consciousness. “Erroneous thoughts” are those that perpetuate the perception that we are separate beings from divine consciousness.
Contemporary spiritual teachers The Guides, as channelled by Paul Selig, frequently offer this same teaching. In a recent channelled lecture entitled “Thought & God” on his YouTube channel (two separate meanings of the word “channel”!), The Guides had this to say:
Now, thought is misunderstood. You think you think a thought and thinking itself is an act you engage in. In fact, that is not true. A thought is an expression, an idea being made known. It is less something done, a thought thunk, then a thought expressed, an idea expressed. Every idea expressed lives on in eternity. Once a thought is expressed, it has amplitude and it finds a place to be realized.
What this statement means is that our thoughts don’t originate with us. Thoughts are ideas that belong to no one, but come into our awareness based on our own perception of the world and what is happening.
For example, when I have a migraine, I perceive myself as being in pain. (I may be a yogi, but I haven’t developed the skill to NOT perceive my body in pain.) The thought, “I am in pain,” brings an endless stream of other thoughts about what it means to be in pain, what I will do about the pain, etc. A line of thinking has been unleashed that I may feel I have no control over. The idea of pain is seeking a place to be realized in me.
How to Develop Claircognizance
Now that we have reviewed some spiritual principals around thought, let’s look at how to develop claircognizance.
Connection
The teachings on thought and divine consciousness lead us to understand the importance of the source for our thoughts.
To activate claircognizance, or pyschic knowledge, is to connect to a greater field of information that lies beyond your mind. But what do you do to get there?
There are many different ways to find connection to divine consciousness but the most important principal is to understand to whom or to what you are trying to connect. Are you connecting to ancestors, deities, spirit guides, saints, gurus, Christ, God, or the Akashic Field? Do you see the divine in these other forms, such as ancestors, or are you thinking of them just as your ticket to supernatural connection? What prayers, mantras, or petitions are you using to connect beyond yourself?
Finally, what practices do you use to activate your claircognizance— prayer, meditation, creating a sacred space, setting intentions, journaling? Make sure that these practices are ones that you trust, feel confident in, and can help re-ground you as you open to receive information.
Intention
Considering your source for divine connection reflects your intention in activating your claircognizance.
Why are you doing this? Do you want to get stock market recommendations or connect to a source of love? Are you asking your ancestors to help you reach material goals (“manifesting”) or are you wanting to know yourself on a deeper level and heal ancestral wounds?
Discernment
Discernment is the most important factor in developing your claircognizance. Learning to recognize what is going on in your own mind and body helps you discern when information is arriving that did not arise internally.
Here are some tips to aid your discernment in developing your claircognizance skills:
What’s going on in your physical body? Do you notice how your thoughts are driven by your sensations? Is there any difference in your physical sensations when you know you have made a connection to a divine source?
Notice when thoughts arise that are totally subjective, like, “I’m not good at this,” or “I should have replied to that email” and acknowledge those thoughts as your own.
Finally, notice when objective information arrives that isn’t something you had any prior knowledge or expectation of. It can be tricky to discern between imagination and information that is psychically obtained. But when you are creating with your imagination or fantasizing, it feels like mental work. You have to keep driving yourself forward to continue. I find that claircognizance has its own cadence and frequently contains information I couldn’t have dreamed of (or sometimes intended).
Trust
Developing claircognizance takes time and can depend on the state of your nervous system.
If you are panicked, it’s probably a difficult time to connect and trust what you receive.
It’s important to be relaxed, free of fear, and to feel safe while you connect to a guide, ancestor, etc.
Starting with some meditation and grounding, clearing your mind of thoughts, and honestly checking in with your emotional state are important preparatory steps.
References
Yogananda, Paramhansa. Autobiography of a Yogi.
