As your sequence of various stages are accomplished and you begin to awaken to the powers within. The sensations of this being natural, envelop you, and resuscitate the intuitive gifts, nature endowed us with.

Put into simple words "What a Buzz".

The following information is an article written by Heidi Sawyer and can be found at Ezines Articles. I've chosen this article to end this series with, simply because, one can relate to it. But thats another series. At the moment I'd like to toss some ideas around about Habitual Manner, how it can effect and stifle our intuitive natures.

The 17 Stages of Psychic Development

The following stages will help to show you how close you are to 'flicking on the light switch' and waking up from Gergef's 'sleeping man'. The stages do not necessarily happen in any particular order, they are not set in stone and you may experience several at a time. The following order does however reflect the order of the experience of many on the journey and there does seem to be a systematic approach to the development process. Some people will go through all of them, others one or two. Overall however, you will develop at a pace that is exactly right for you.

Many of the stages are associated with the fusing of the emotional, energy body and the spiritual body, which is a vital underlying part of the development process.


1. Life Crisis

This stage does not necessarily have to happen to everyone on the psychic path if they take notice of the pebbles at an early stage. However, the move towards wishing to develop on a psychic level is often preceded by a life drama. This can be anything from a confused childhood to a recent divorce.

2. Heightened Awareness

This is when you start to see things out of the corner of your eye. This can also start with seeing 'blobs' of colour or swirling energies. For others it will be the beginning of hearing messages in your mind, vivid dreams, premonitions, and thinking you are either going mad or the mind is playing tricks. Often people ignore the pebbles here, and dismiss what their heightened senses are trying to tell them.

3. Hyper Sensitivity

Becoming more sensitive to criticism and other people's views. At this stage you begin to know that you have the ability to feel other people's feelings. Confusion and a sense of, 'am I normal' prevails at this stage.

4. Searching

The search for material that explains the strange experiences begins. This is often done quietly through fear of ridicule. Also a strong desire to find 'like-minded' individuals begins. It is at this stage you start to really question your sanity! This is the point of no return. From this stage forward you will spend your life searching for answers to life's questions. There may be rests in between but you will always be curious. It becomes like an itch you can't scratch.

5. Starting To Stand Up For Yourself

Beware! The meek will suddenly start standing up for themselves and will not take any nonsense. This may be short term as it is only the start. A strong foundation has not yet been constructed but the wheels will have been set in motion.

6. Feeling Alone / Misunderstood

At this stage the developing psychic has usually found material to partially explain their interest and people of a like-minded nature. Unfortunately at this stage, those often closest to the person will want to destroy their partner's / friend's new interest because they feel (but will not admit it) threatened by the new 'hobby'. The psychic will often be taken aside by a 'concerned' relative about how they are getting into an occult or being brainwashed, and how it is all mumbo jumbo. If you do not have this stage you are very lucky!!

This leads to a very confused psychic. Is it wrong to continue? What should I do? Am I mad? Usually the decision is to carry on quietly and not share the newfound knowledge with your immediate peers.

7. I Can't Do It

Feelings of insecurity surface very well at this stage. The developing psychic sees others moving at a faster speed. They can't work out how to speed their own progress but become increasingly disheartened because of the speed their psychic peers are moving at around them. For some the opposite may happen, this will be they feel they are moving too quickly, frightened by the experience and wanting to slow it down or shut it off because the responsibility feels overwhelming.

Imagine waking up into a strange and unknown world to you. If you are one of the lucky few who would be extremely curious and would enjoy waking up in the unfamiliar, the unfamiliar would appear a daunting place until you had got used to it. For many, they begin to wake up in this new world, they try to deny themselves the fact they are waking up somewhere different in the hope things can stay the same, the familiar and well-known, 'comfort zone'. This will continue until the developing psychic is no longer scared and wishes to embrace the 'new world' they are waking up to - this can take some while.

We have all at some point in our life feared change. The trick in overcoming the fear of change is to take a moment to fast forward life to how it will be if we remain the same. Life cannot change unless we change, merely hoping it will change leads to disappointment. In your mind, fast forward your life to how it will be once change has happened. You will soon see change is an exciting option!

8. Wanting Silence / To Be Alone

The senses are still sharpening, as they are doing so it is likely at this stage the developing psychic becomes very sensitive to loud noises, they may find they can't stand the radio playing or the sound of raised voices. Often they will want to be in open space or feel a strong need to be in the countryside. An increased wish to spend periods alone contemplating or 'staring out the kitchen window.' Your body is telling you it wishes to meditate. During this stage it is necessary to find a regular quiet spot during the day to avoid irritability.

9. Realisation that your job / circumstances are not right for you

This is the beginning of learning to see the bricks!! Often people will wait until they are made redundant or sacked (the boulder) before they can see they have outgrown their job / circumstances / relationship or that their place of work or home does not match with their newfound awareness. This is often a horrid stage because it is about realising that your life has often been a compromise (not always) up until this point. The difficult bit is the courage to let go and move on.
Moving through this stage often becomes a stumbling block for most people and delays their development. This stage is about breaking away from the decisions 'made for you' in life and 'what you have done to please another'. It is about breaking free of the career you chose because it pleased your parents, the relationship you stayed in for convenience or the job you do, for the money.

Probably the most important factor in choosing the psychic path and developing your skill to the best of your ability; is about authenticity. You cannot be a truly authentic psychic unless you are honest with yourself. Those who are not honest with themselves often fear the psychic path. Those who are honest with themselves embrace it!

10. Feeling Abandoned

This part does not necessarily happen to everyone on the psychic path.

At this stage friends and family start to leave your life or they appear to be leaving. The developing psychic no longer feels connected to those they have been associating with for years. The structures of your life begin to disintegrate. Everything you thought to be real / are attached to, fall apart.

How depressing!! This is actually a fantastic stage, providing you make sure you stretch your view beyond the current situation. How do you repair a derelict building? Well you don't! First you have to knock it down so that you build a new, stronger one in its place.

This stage is about seeing through any illusions. Through this stage we find what is real. Oh how we tell ourselves lies! We tell ourselves everything is fine when it's not. We tell ourselves it's awful when clearly it's okay. When all is taken away from us we begin to understand the beauty of the Universe. We develop a great understanding of what is really important and learn how to deeply appreciate the small things in life. Trivia becomes trivia once this stage is complete. What seemed devastating doesn't carry the same emotion it did previously.

Uncontrollable crying for no apparent reason is part of this stage. This is because the cells of the body are starting to throw off old memory, making way for the strong ability to see into your own and other people's lives.

11. Increased Ability

The psychic senses usually by this time are developing with a very good and firm foundation. The ability to 'read' people is often really quite strong by this stage.

12. De-Tox

This stage for some people comes early on, for others it comes quite a bit later. If you are ignoring it a physical illness will often have to surface to show you (a boulder). The length of time you have been ignoring the necessity for this the heavier the physical illness.

At this stage it is time to clean up your body and if it has not happened already, your thoughts. As the ability to channel higher energies than your own, increases, it is vital the channel the energies are using, is a 'clean' one. If it is not, as does happen with a lot of psychic's not very nice physical illness begins to occur. If you refuse to de-tox, the effect is a bit like stuffing a potato up an exhaust pipe.

To de-tox means fasting for a few days. There are many different fasts you can do, from only drinking water for a day or so, to eating brown rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner for up to ten days. Do a colon cleanse, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat less sugar and meat. Minimise your caffeine intake. Stay away from low energy food such as takeaways and microwave meals. If you smoke, drink too much alcohol or are dependant on any form of drugs (legal or illegal) then either stop or get help to stop.

Please note, taking illegal drugs is a low energy practice; therefore not only detrimental to yourself but any person you may be reading for. Due to the fact it is a low energy act, you will attract low energy spirit, and you will not be able to sustain your energy at a high enough vibration to channel successfully. It would be too much of a jump from being low energy to channelling high energy. Long-term, people who do this will short circuit and the lights will blow!

13. Wanting To Help Everyone

This stage may sound as though it is a great place to be. In actual fact it isn't. You can't help anyone, only yourself, you can offer people a 'leg-up' not a 'hold up'. If you try and drag a person along to a place within where they really do not want to be but you think it is best for them, stop it - leave them alone!! Focus on the 'self', your 'self'. People are fine as they are, you only have the right to change yourself - leave them alone!

Those in your life however, may go along with it for a while to be polite. Just because you have started to find this new found knowledge you think the world should know, you will if you're not careful, get the 'nut case' status within your family or circle of friends. You have no right to ram things down the throat of others. If they are interested they will ask. If you do ram knowledge down people's necks (there will be the temptation) be prepared because at some stage you will get your theories shot down by the 'life is only what you can see' sceptic. If / when you get to this stage, arguing will only be a waste of your energy. Accept and observe their views as they are, they're entitled to them. You wouldn't like your opinion shot down so it's unfair to shoot at or back at theirs.

Usually at this stage the developing psychic with regard to this subject will not be hugely confident within himself or herself. You will know when you are, because you will not have a need to tell others how to be, and they will begin to have a deep respect for your interest in psychic development. It's almost ironic in that respect.

This stage is a test of how true to yourself you are. Few people like to be 'preached' to on how they should live their life, so remember LEAVE THEM ALONE, no matter how much you can see they are heading along the wrong path. Offer advice ONLY if they ask! Avoid the, 'told you so' when they've made their mistake. Eventually they will ask you first for your psychic advice before they act (keep it impartial) when they have seen a few times, your predictions have been accurate. In the mean time, focus on continuing to develop yourself.

14. Know All

At this stage you 'know it all'. The developing psychic becomes bored with the methods they are learning. Feel their group is holding them back; they have nothing more to learn. The belief starts to set in that they have experienced enough to move on and go it alone, away from their peers.

Some people lose friends in this stage and become seen as unapproachable, even if on hindsight they are seen to be all knowing. As this stage becomes more developed, the psychic gets to the stage of 'the more you know the less you need to say', eventually gaining great respect for their abilities as the need to preach disappears - a great place to be.

15. Clearing

This is the stage the fun really starts!! The clearing stage is when all the things you have never dealt with, or all the things you find frightening, begin to rear their head. Your very worst fears become realities and all your insecurities pound at you. The more you have ignored them in life, the more pronounced the way the Universe will show them to you for clearing. The way forward with this stage is to embrace and welcome the clearing stage, for this is what will really change your life for the better forever!

This stage usually involves a lot of crying and extremes of emotion. During this stage it is often best to stay with your present job and circumstances. The very roots of what you thought was stable will be shaken. It is often at this stage the developing psychic thinks they need to change the externals (Job, relationship etc) to make them happy. This is not the case, blaming these situations, as the source of your unhappiness will slow the process. Stick with 'processing' the feelings you are going through, only then change the externals if your feelings are still the same.

Depending on the developing psychic, this process can last some while and will happen in tandem with some of the other stages. During this process, the developing psychic will realise it is not a loner's process and return to their peers within their development group for help and advice.

16. Breakthrough

After the clearing process (which can take a while) the psychic becomes exceptionally perceptive. They can 'see' what is going on within / for someone at a hundred paces. This is because anything that was in the way of opening up to a true state of being, has been removed during the clearing process. There is then nothing stopping you!!

The clearing stage is also necessary for the humbling of the psychic. The ore of the great Universal force humbles the psychic as the waking up process is in full swing. A deep appreciation of all that life represents happens at this stage.

The ability to manifest what you want in your life comes faster and faster, you begin to look younger, the mind becomes very quiet and the body becomes healthier.

Most people think earning lots of money or winning the lottery will make them happy. Getting to this point you will feel wealthy in the true sense of the word.

17. Power

The power stage is the one to be respected the most. It is at this point, many hit the 'high stakes,' becoming very good at their work - powerfully psychic.

This is the stage when people very much seek your assistance. It is the point of real challenge. This is when a person's psychic abilities become so heightened they have to be very clear on which way it is channeled. This is why it is so important to also develop spiritually whilst on the psychic path.

It is at this point a psychic can channel energies that are powerful in helping people, but can also be used in a direction of power over others. It is the responsibility of the true psychic to do their best to never exert power over others. To be able to do this, you have to lose the attachment to what people do with their lives. It is not the psychic's position to judge others or direct a person's life; you are simply there to channel the highest source of information possible to allow a person to make an informed decision on the direction their life is taking.

The information received will only be to the same 'level' of the psychic. A highly developed guide will not channel through a medium of little knowledge. The same as a Solicitor will not discuss the technicalities of the law with a five year old.

Once through the main stages of the psychic path, life changes dramatically. Everything begins to slot pleasantly into place. Few things worry you, any fears are short-term and struggles with life become brief. The poverty mentality that most of us are afflicted with, begins to dissolve, we learn that there is enough of everything for everyone. Negative thoughts and feelings about others and us disappear, and helping others becomes natural.

Life becomes very fast, change is constant, rapid and welcome. There is a thirst and hunger for more knowledge and understanding of how life works. 'Reading' others becomes very simple with the ability to 'dip' in and out of the energy of those living and of those who have passed over happening at the flick of a mental switch with ease and little effort. Like tuning into a radio station you become the receiver and can switch on and off whenever you desire.

A desire to be comfortable in life increases, but the interest in material belongings diminishes. The increase in your own and other people's wealth (in all areas of life) becomes the source of celebration. Jealous thoughts and actions are a thing of the past. Pleasure is had in accepting people as perfect exactly the way they are. Thus meaning, people do not have to change in order to please you. They are acceptable, as you are accepting of yourself.

This does however, mean it becomes easy to choose whom you wish to have in your life and those you wish to let go of. At this stage safety exists. The psychic learns that by letting go, not having to hold on tight, allows true progress of the self and others. It is likely by this point anything the psychic has held on tight to will have been lost. This may be in the form of material objects, family members, friends or partners. This takes place in order for the psychic to learn to let all energies be free and not judged for their physical manifestations. Things become an 'interesting evolutionary process' rather than a problem or terrible occurrence.

Then comes sharing and enfoldment - a spiritual process that remains unexplainable and private to the individual. The relationship with the Universal force (or God if you choose) attains wholeness.

From this point it does not mean it is the end. The psychic simply builds upon what is already learnt, matching with the principles that life is the same but different. It is different in the fact that skydiving is as interesting as cleaning the toilet. You may have heard of the saying "before enlightenment chop wood carry water - after enlightenment chop wood carry water." Life on the outer world may not have changed; life on the inner world however, is far more pleasurable.

If as a developing psychic you feel you are not experiencing all the stages it does not mean you have failed. Every person's experience is different. For some, part of their life purpose is to complete the full stages of the psychic journey, for others it is as purposeful to experience a few. Life is about experiencing; no one experience is more important than another. No matter what your experience of the psychic journey is, it is one hundred percent right for you at this stage in your life. The very fact you have found it, means your journey will be astounding.

Bestselling author Heidi Sawyer, Director of The Heidi Sawyer Institute of Psychic Development. Heidi is accomplished author and world-renowned course facilitator on the subject of Psychic Development, her website can be found at http://www.psychiccourses.com take our free psychic test to find out if you have the gift.