Do you know of a technique to exercise your ability to hear the spirit world (telepathically)? How could one strengthen the connection to the other realms, so much that you live in the half dead, half alive, one-foot-in-the-otherworld state?
Thank you for your question, Anon.
To hear the Otherworld denizens, I suggest meditation. Learn to distinguish what your thoughts are, and begin to filter out what is not your voice. Martin Coleman’s book Communicating with the Spirits gives a few exercises for this. Franz Bardon in his book Initiation into Hermetics also gives a method to develop clariaudience, but I must admit that I have not yet tried it. Bardon’s book is full of psychic exercises which the author very clearly lays out.
I was taught to just meditate. When you go out into nature, sit and listen, and bring yourself into a “between” state. I have never experienced it as a whole form like we do in regular speech. Rather, it is snatches or words. This is different than when I am speaking with my personal spirits, whom I can hear more clearly, and they tend to speak -through- me, rather than my actually “hearing” them. Have a pen and paper with you so you can write down what you hear. It takes practice. Sometimes you may not “hear” anything at all, and that’s okay, because at least you practiced.
I do not believe that some are born with this ability, and that others are not. I think that that comes from a misunderstanding of the passing down of certain techniques. For example: in Scotland the Sight is largely hereditary, or one must be “born” with it under certain circumstances (born with a caul, seventh son, having red hair, et cetera), but in other parts of the world one can be trained in these arts. We know through the writings and research of RJ Stewart that there was an initiatory sect of Scottish seers, which Kirk talks about briefly in his book. Kirk also mentions (and this is found in other writings contemporary to his time) certain techniques the seers used to gain clearer visions (ointments and potions and such). I am of the belief that the Sight was a mixture of natural ability of an imagination, and a technique and formula passed down in Scotland. I also think this because my father taught me to See.
As for strengthening your connection to the Otherworld, reaching out to Them will certainly help. Be warned: once you see them, they will see you, and some of them do not like to be Seen. Never reveal to them with which Eye you see them, for they will strike it blind! Of course, I think this is counteracted when one is initiated by the spirits: they’ve accepted you, why would they blind you? The threat, I think, is only to keep out the uninitiated.
I have given a formula for this. You must reach out to the Spirits. I think it important to first reach out to your own spirits, that is your Indwelling Familiar and your Fetch Beast. Many different traditions speak of these entities, though with alternate terms. Some mix them together (which is not necessarily wrong), others see them as completely separate from the witch, others do not. Being in communication with your Indwelling Familiar will help you speak and hear other spirit denizens. They are your “In”.
You will notice a connection with the Red Meal and the Eucharist, and indeed they spring from the same ritual. It is one of the oldest rituals humans have: communion, sacrifice, union with the gods and with each other.
You might also read this for some inspiration, where I list various methods of “stepping onto the path”, as it were. Becoming Other
