Something that's been bugging me..

[Obsidian]

So this question is based off of something that was mentioned off-hand a few years ago but has always stuck in my head.

Re-reading through old forum posts trolling for information hasn't elaborated much either, just re-ignited my curiosity on this particular subject.

See, I come from a Psionics background and we used to practice very 'psychic' skills. The type more typically associated with a psychic as opposed to a mage. Examples would be telepathy, empathy and precognition. We would use skills like psychometry to sense colours, objects and marked playing cards, practice sending and receiving colours, shapes, animals and more via telepathy, imbue text or objects with energy to carry a message and so on.

Back then I always thought there was a distinction between Psionics and Magic (particularly tech-style magic) which I know now isn't the case. I also know ways to perform most of what I described above without having to think about internal energy like I used to.

I've heard it said that whilst you can use external energy for telepathy, empathy, etc. it's often-times not as effective as using internal 'psi' energy.

Our technique for practicing telepathy was to link to the other person, re-enforce the link and use that to send whatever back and forth. I remember personally creating a 'psi-ball', putting the impression of a dog in it and sending it down that big 'ol link and the other person having a crack at figuring out what it is.

For Psychometry it was sticking your hand in a black bag with different coloured markers and finding the 'blue' one. Or getting a bunch of stones, imbuing one with energy, chucking them in a bag and finding that one again.

So my question is:

Does Omnimancy do much with these 'skills'? I imagine the level of development of the senses would mean a lot of the 'middle man' could be cut out, so to speak. You wouldn't need to touch the object to read the energy imprint on it, for instance. For Telepathy I imagine you could just MP to the other person and have a 'chat' in a much more traditional way than what I described above.

Does external energy carry information like I described (images, impressions, words, colours, etc) as well as internal energy?

And as far as Precog goes.. That was something I never really practiced because I couldn't figure out 'how' to.. Does Omnimancy do anything similar? I'm aware of time-looking to review events, tech-hunting, etc (although I don't understand the process or technique too well) but does that work for the future in the way precognition does?

I know when I had an internal sensory amp applied to my system I noticed a dramatic increase in my input and my ability to make our details IN that input. I could sense emotions and thoughts a lot easier, pin-point who I was receiving in a crowd, my ability to project thoughts and emotions went up significantly.. Until I blew up from lack of proper shielding

Is that a common thing with Omni-style amping? Can you amp specific aspects of the over-all energetic 'grid' without affecting all of it? I'm just full of questions right now!

A lot of this has been brought on from re-reading Oyama's thread about the basic principles of tech. I'm trying to figure things out a lot and struggling with my senses and it's bringing a lot of things in me!

[LordArt]

Does Omnimancy do much with these 'skills'?

We use them if that is what you mean. It isn't trained specifically but more of an incidental. Meaning, one trains to sense similar things which what you mention becomes a sub-set. Meaning, once one knows how to scan spells remotely, it ends up being what you are talking about in end effect. Empathy and the like is taught how to block it to keep people level and not insane.

I imagine the level of development of the senses would mean a lot of the 'middle man' could be cut out, so to speak. You wouldn't need to touch the object to read the energy imprint on it, for instance. For Telepathy I imagine you could just MP to the other person and have a 'chat' in a much more traditional way than what I described above.

Correct. We don't need to touch something to get what is in it. It becomes a typical spell scan with all that gives. If it isn't in line of sight, then we have to use other methods to get a lock, even if it's just temporal rather that using people. Meaning, if we've seen it physically in the past, we can use that as a basis point to track it in the now. Otherwise, one has to use/hijack someone's else observations of it to get a lock, then do scans as normal.

Telepathy doesn't require MPing there first, especially if one is use to dealing with said entity. For us, this would be "astral communications". Takes a lot of practice, but it's functional. It isn't astral Skype, but it does the job. If you want to talk with another physical person, the phone (or skype, etc.) is far easier.

Does external energy carry information like I described (images, impressions, words, colours, etc) as well as internal energy?

I've never seen a difference. I think people are far more use to using their own energy for such things, and even when one communicates, it's normal to just use internal energy as reflex. However, I've created knowledge bots and the like and communicating with them is no different, and they aren't of internal energy when they send. Saying they are providing more information than normal isn't a fair comparison since that is what they are built for. But to answer your question, it shouldn't matter if it's internal or not to carry information.

And as far as Precog goes.. That was something I never really practiced because I couldn't figure out 'how' to.. Does Omnimancy do anything similar? I'm aware of time-looking to review events, tech-hunting, etc (although I don't understand the process or technique too well) but does that work for the future in the way precognition does?

We USE to teach Tarot back in the day, but that disappeared over the years. Mostly because it got superseded, but the newer method isn't taught as much as trying to get the students to figure it out. Pre-cog as in flashes just happens as one develops better senses. Purposeful looking into the future is simply a matter of technique. Filtered information (like Tarot, runes, etc.) really do have their place vs time-looking/LP/etc. Filtered information while may not be accurate, tells you what you need to know, not what is. Sometimes knowing the future screws it up.

Is that a common thing with Omni-style amping? Can you amp specific aspects of the over-all energetic 'grid' without affecting all of it?

It normally isn't done because overall yields a better and more balanced result. The Omni amps don't "blow you out". If they do, then they aren't designed right. One could do specific things, but we haven't found a reason to do so. We've found everything plays into everything else for the most part so it's usually a matter of trying to get around bottlenecks, or give enhancements. I guess that isn't 100% true. I've made things to help people's senses, and I guess some of the more recent stuff is only quasi considered an amp (ie. cascade arrays…But that is getting on 8 or so years old. That’s just creepy). It's a matter of perspective I guess.

[Obsidian]

Hey Art, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I've been out of town.

Thank you very much for your reply. A lot of your answers are what I thought they would be and it's raised a lot more questions. I'm not surprised there's very little difference between internal and external energy as far as information storage and transfer goes. Energy is energy after all! I guess the familiarity with one's own energy and reflex to use it are the reasons some people might find it more successful using their internal energy.

Regarding what you said about scanning an object, just how much detail are you able to glean? Of course this will be dependent on the strength of the curious party's senses but is there a limit to what you can learn? Stories of psychics and mediums say they're able to learn of previous owners, deceit and treachery involved with the object, times and dates.. I know things that create a stronger emotional response in a person are more likely to leave an imprint on an object or their surroundings but is there a limit to what you can impart/imprint, and a limit to what you can learn?

When you say 'astral communications', is it the same person-to-person and it is person-to-entity? I know I've spoken to entities before and my technique was to essentially 'talk' mentally/astrally how I would if I were having a face-to-face conversation. Had some pretty good results too. Do you guys use that or do you have more effective methods?

(I'd also like to add: It would be really cool to HAVE astral communication like Skype! No need for any cables or call charges!)

I didn't expect Omni to teach or deal much with Tarot or Runic divination. I know you yourself have some background in Runes but I would've thought it too imprecise to make it very useful. The reasons you presented make a lot of sense though. Just to eliminate confusion, could you possibly provide an example of what you mean when you say, "...Filtered information while may not be accurate, tells you what you need to know, not what is. Sometimes knowing the future screws it up."? I think I understand but would rather not get it wrong.

Any hints at the superior method you mentioned? =P

Also, regarding time-looking.. Is there a limit to what you can accomplish there? For example, would I be able to nosy around Aleister Crowley or Uri Gellar? How about back to the fabled Merlin? Or even further back to mages of ancient Egypt? I'm sure there would be political issues involved in looking over their shoulder or trying to 'borrow' their work but would it even be possible? Does going back further risk muddying the results or make it harder to lock onto things?

Thanks for your answer regarding the amplifying, too. I figured that would be the case for the most part. The amp I've had experience with was more of an experiment and a bit of fun, it only really went wrong because I couldn't sustain the level of shielding I required. Don't know if it was Omni-designed but I'm fairly sure it was Omni-influenced at the very least.

Sorry I hit you with so many questions. Feel free to pick and choose which ones you answer and take your time. No rush at all.

Thanks again Art =)

[LordArt]

Hey Art, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I've been out of town.

My responses are based on how much “free time” I have at work. So don’t sweat it.

Regarding what you said about scanning an object, just how much detail are you able to glean? Of course this will be dependent on the strength of the curious party's senses but is there a limit to what you can learn? Stories of psychics and mediums say they're able to learn of previous owners, deceit and treachery involved with the object, times and dates.. I know things that create a stronger emotional response in a person are more likely to leave an imprint on an object or their surroundings but is there a limit to what you can impart/imprint, and a limit to what you can learn?

I would say it depends on the skill of the individual. Once you have a magical lock based on the energy in the object, you are all set. While there is information contained within the imprint on the object which is more relevant to what you ask, after a lock is gotten, you can trace the individual’s history, not just the object. You aren’t going to get the lottery numbers they played that day unless that is really strong in the imprint, but you should be able to get previous owners easily enough based on the energy in the object (unless it’s been wiped and you have no other means to lock on). Living things or even spells are easier to keep a lock on magically. If there is no magical energy, there is nothing to lock on to. But people are messy by nature and leave their “finger prints” all over. The energy an individual puts out in their aura gets all over everything, and if there is a high emotional response, it becomes THAT much easier to pick up on. Dates and times are just time looking, and the melodramics of deceit and treachery would likely be in the emotional blast wave the object got stained with in the first place. But once you got locked on the individual you could just look forward and backward and see such things in their life anyways. You cross reference those same episodes with whom the object also affected and you can probably get your new best selling thriller on the book shelves.

When you say 'astral communications', is it the same person-to-person and it is person-to-entity? I know I've spoken to entities before and my technique was to essentially 'talk' mentally/astrally how I would if I were having a face-to-face conversation. Had some pretty good results too. Do you guys use that or do you have more effective methods?

It’s the same technique person to person as it as person to entity. The BIG problem is, person to person is very sketchy because that isn’t the normal way we communicate as incarnates. The other person has to be trained to communicate the same way, and be in that mental mode to do the talking and receiving. Usually it’s a pain in the butt. It’s far easier to text or phone someone.

(I'd also like to add: It would be really cool to HAVE astral communication like Skype! No need for any cables or call charges!)

It can work that way, just takes a LOT of practice and honestly, no one puts in that kind of time to get that good for person to person talking. If it was as simple as a piece of tech, we’d so rule AT&T.

I didn't expect Omni to teach or deal much with Tarot or Runic divination. I know you yourself have some background in Runes but I would've thought it too imprecise to make it very useful. The reasons you presented make a lot of sense though. Just to eliminate confusion, could you possibly provide an example of what you mean when you say, "...Filtered information while may not be accurate, tells you what you need to know, not what is. Sometimes knowing the future screws it up."? I think I understand but would rather not get it wrong.

If you ask the right questions, tarot and runes can be quite precise. Much like anything else, it’s knowing your tools to get the most out of them. Runes are better for cyclical issues since that is their nature.

As far as filtered information goes, it isn’t the literal future in some cases. It’s what something wants to tell you about that future, which is different. That something could be your inner, a helper spirit/spirit guide, etc. Depends on the situation and the individual. What is revealed is usually dependant on the individual and their needs, disposition and what they can really handle (versus what they think they can). For example, if you are looking for a job, and are told you are going to get one next week, so you stop looking so hard, you miss the job opportunity that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t slack off. This is the kind of situation where literal is worse for you in the long run rather than being vague, inaccurate, or simply doing the magic 8 ball bit and going “answer unclear - ask again later”. Hopefully the entity has your back and knows which set of answers will get you going where you need to go. Sometimes that’s the truth of what will happen, other times, it’s bullshit to get you to make certain decisions that gets you where you need to go anyways.

“Once again, I drag you kicking and screaming, and in the end, you will thank me for it” – Tyler Durden. Lot’s of wisdom there when you are talking about filtered information.

Any hints at the superior method you mentioned? =P

Not a chance. Even Omnis don’t get taught it. They have to figure it out based on hints dropped, and THEN they get taught it once they figured out enough to be dangerous.

Also, regarding time-looking.. Is there a limit to what you can accomplish there? For example, would I be able to nosy around Aleister Crowley or Uri Gellar? How about back to the fabled Merlin? Or even further back to mages of ancient Egypt? I'm sure there would be political issues involved in looking over their shoulder or trying to 'borrow' their work but would it even be possible? Does going back further risk muddying the results or make it harder to lock onto things?

Looking back in time for fictional characters isn’t helpful (ie. Merlin). Secondly, going back in time (or even in current or future time) to mages or powerful beings that aren’t expecting you and friendly can be Bad(tm). Most things don’t like to be poked at and do you want to be the fly that they swat? They would notice you, probably consider you a random spirit and deal with you appropriately if you kept nosing in their business. Yes you can scan and get info depending on how well their stuff blocks such things. The further back you go, the less of a lock you are going to have realistically. Because reality is so malleable, the further you go from now, the less likely it’s stable. It’s easy to trace someone’s lifetime, but what happens when you go before then? You can trace that part too and go to previous incarnations (which has it’s own uses) but then to trace to famous people gets harder if the individual didn’t happen to know them. There isn’t that direct link to be followed. Too many variables creep into the mix to get a lock to run on.

In the end, what do you really hope to get out of it? If you are cool enough to really get what they are doing, you can likely already do it. If you can get a good convo going, then that might be different. But even then, such discoveries personally I’d like double checked.

[Obsidian]

So if I'm reading it correctly, at the end of the day the limit of your senses is the limit of how much data you can retrieve from an object. There's no set amount of data to be 'read' because you can start cross-referencing, tracing all the links and looking back and forth along time-lines to keep learning more and more. It all just comes down to how hard you want to look and how fine detail you can see.

The nature of achieving an energetic lock on someone or something.. Are there any things that make it harder or easier? I know the target can hide themselves (with varying levels of sophistication) but presuming the target cannot do that, how hard can it be to make a lock? For example, would it be harder to lock onto someone you see across the street than it would be someone you see on the news? Given geographical separation counts for a lot less on the astral, what are the other factors that might affect it?

I know in the past I used to have trouble holding a lock on certain practice partners and not with others. It's something I could never figure out the cause of.

You say it takes a lot of practice to get person-to-person astral communication down to a fine art. Like anything in life really, I guess. Just one thing. What does the regular practice actually DO? For example: Constant study of mathematics re-enforces the neural pathways created by the new information and methods you learn. Lifting weights causes the muscle to bulk and strengthen. Playing guitar or piano trains things into muscle memory (which I guess is a blend of strengthening and neural re-enforcing). Does regular astral communication practice (or magical practice in general) work in a similar way? Or is it more developing your ability to interpret the input your senses are already receiving?

Interesting what you said regarding tarot and runes. If I'm interpreting it correctly it could be thought that there's no set of fixed future. You stated, "...For example, if you are looking for a job, and are told you are going to get one next week, so you stop looking so hard, you miss the job opportunity that you wouldn’t have if you didn’t slack off..." which would imply that the job isn't a guaranteed part of your future, it's merely a possibility.

If the future is a set of possibilities as opposed to a concrete sequence of events I can see how a filtered observation would be a much-preferred way to view the future. And what you said regarding the information being what you need to nudge you in the right direction seems like a good thing indeed.

I'm quite curious about this superior method you have. Hopefully one day I'm in a position where I can try to figure it out for myself.

My questions regarding time-looking were mostly aimed at tracking down certain unique abilities. Unique more because of their apparent strength. I used the example of Aleister Crowley because he's a mage of some repute. I don't doubt that you would likely have the ability to do most of what he does but I'm sure there would be some things that would be new. Or Uri Gellar as another example. He's famous for his PK abilities, perhaps researching into him (or others of the same repute) could help provide the missing link to physical magic.

I can appreciate what you said regarding irritating them. You certainly wouldn't want to be the fly they swat but I would imagine if you were in a position to reach them you would have something to offer to help separate you from the masses.

I think there's a lot that I don't understand about time-looking and tracing people. Perhaps the uses I can see now wouldn't really be as useful by the time you're powerful enough to actually DO it with some accuracy. By the time you've got enough power and ability to successfully snoop over someone's shoulder and decode their stuff, you likely have more than enough on your hands anyway, am I right?

Thanks for the enlightening responses. There's still a few things I'm trying to get my head around (as you can see) but I think holes and gaps in my knowledge are starting to get filled, for the time being at least. I'm certain more questions will grow out of the seeds that have been planted but for now I need to think things through and understand the information I've been given.

[Psychokinetic Wannabe]

... Or Uri Gellar as another example. He's famous for his PK abilities, perhaps researching into him (or others of the same repute) could help provide the missing link to physical magic. ...

I would just like to point out that Uri Gellar was a fraud and his 'psychokinesis' always amounted to a few specific tricks that are known to be very easy to do as fake examples of psychokinesis.

And I'm someone who seriously considers possible more paranormal shit than most Omnis probably ever remotely consider feasible, I'd like to think it says something when I'm condemning a purported psychokinetic individual.

[Obsidian]

I haven't researched into him very much. I ahven't researched into much physical magic, in all honesty. It is something I wish to look into further though, when the time comes.

I was more interested in the concept of looking at these 'famous' (or infamous) people of paranormal ability to see if they ARE doing something and, if they are, whether it can be copied from them.

Are there any people you've investigated with actual demonstratable abilities?

[FireEssence]

... Or Uri Gellar as another example. He's famous for his PK abilities, perhaps researching into him (or others of the same repute) could help provide the missing link to physical magic. ...

I would just like to point out that Uri Gellar was a fraud and his 'psychokinesis' always amounted to a few specific tricks that are known to be very easy to do as fake examples of psychokinesis.

And I'm someone who seriously considers possible more paranormal shit than most Omnis probably ever remotely consider feasible, I'd like to think it says something when I'm condemning a purported psychokinetic individual.

I definitely appreciate your candor with regards to Geller-- I've always had mixed feelings based on the variety of either massively critical or massively accepting opinions of him in certain communities. Sort of on Obsidian's same line of thought, are there people or cases you've actively considered studying? For example, analyzing people who are known "poltergeists", so to speak, to analyze if they are different or just processing things in a specific way?

By way of curiosity, I've always been fascinated by Nina Kulagina, because despite the opportunity for the USSR to kind of up the ante by claiming she was some kind of powerhouse, the reports of her skills were actually fairly subdued with regard to her applicability in any sort of "Psi War".