Why a Guild?
Please see Winged Wolf’s essay on the subject here.
What do all these weird words mean?
For a glossary of terms, click here.
What is psionics?
Psionics in our school of thought is the use of a specific type of “psychic” energy associated with the nervous system to do work–it includes most of the abilities generally considered psychic (such as telling the future, or moving objects with the mind, as well as some that most people haven’t heard of. Psionics (as we define it) does not include the use of energies taken from external sources.
What is a psion?
A psion is a person who uses psionic abilities–in other words, a psychic who uses only energy from within themselves to make their abilities work.
What kind of energy is this?
Psi energy seems to have electromagnetic properties and it seems to be associated with nervous system function. In other words, more energy is produced with greater activity in the nervous system. While we do not know for certain what type of energy psi energy is, we can make some inferences based on these observations. There are several theories out there which are compatible with our practices and our observations. Those will be outlined in a file on psionic theories attached to the Guild main page.
Why does the Psion Guild recommend only using psi energy, and not external energies?
The Guild recommends specializing in using psi energy for a couple reasons:
First, focusing on just one type of energy allows you the time to truly master it. Since the same effects can be accomplished using psi as with many of the other external energy types, using external energy isn’t necessary.
Second, your energy body is designed to handle psi energy. Taking external energies into your energy system can cause damage or at the very least desensitization to the finer differences between types of energy.
If external energy is absolutely necessary for something, it is possible to manipulate the energy externally without taking it into your body and nervous system.
Can anyone learn psionics, or is the ability inborn?
Nearly anyone can learn psionics, although there are a few people who do not seem to be able to. There are those who are born with ability, and some born with the instincts to use it as well. It remains to be seen whether such people have an advantage in learning psionics, because childhood trauma can cause them to block their abilities. Certainly, however, such people tend to be most interested in psionics.
What other types of energies are there, aside from psi, where do they come from, and how do I tell them apart?
Different types of energies have a different “feel” to them–with practice, you can perceive these differences. Click here for a description of energy types and where they originate.
Why should I learn psionics?
If the abilities are inborn in you, you may want to learn to use them in order to defend yourself against other psis who may not be friendly and against spirit entities. You may need to learn to control them so that they do not interfere with your life in a negative fashion, particularly if you have abilities such as emotion or thought sensing. Most of all, if you have them inborn, you may pass them on to your children. If you do not understand them, don’t understand how to use and teach them, how can you help your children to deal with them? They may not have the same abilities you do, and theirs may be stronger or weaker. They may need to learn to control them in order to avoid mental problems or worse. If the abilities are not inborn within you, you may want to learn them simply because this is an entirely new spectrum of possibility for you–an advantage you can gain fairly, and possibly a way to aid yourself and others which was not open to you before.
Can you prove it to me?
Not yet. Our best advice is that if you really have an interest in this, try developing your own abilities. You’ll be able to correlate your experiences with those of others and gain enough validation for yourself, in time. Objective proof, however, is not yet within our reach. Most psis have no patience with people who demand that they demonstrate their abilities.
How come no one has tried to get Randi’s million dollar prize by demonstrating psionics? Why not show all this to the media and prove psionics is real and be famous?
Quite a few scientific studies have been done demonstrating things like telepathy and psychokinesis, but people refuse to acknowledge it. Really, it comes down to people believing what they want to believe, despite the evidence–it is never good enough for them. If someone tries to demonstrate psychokinesis to the media, for example, people come up with elaborate explanations for how it could be a trick. As for Randi’s prize, see this article written by Peebrain from Psipog for his experience with that organization.
Will you scan me?
No. There usually isn’t a reason for someone to need a scan, and those who can scan get really tired of being asked. Also, don’t ask for a scan thinking that we’re going to psychically tell your fortune or something. Scanning shows a person’s energy system and sometimes whatever energy constructs are near them. If you think your energy system has been injured, then contact one of the staff (Winged Wolf, Amaya, Daimon, Firestorm/FS, Nevyn, zhala, Solet, drazak, or ShadowRain) via IRC and ask for help.
I get headaches/get nosebleeds/feel pressure or fuzziness in my head/feel dizzy/feel sick/feel pain/etc. while practicing, is this normal?
No. These feelings usually indicate an energy overload and/or a drop in blood sugar. Take a break from practicing for the day, ground and center, and eat a snack (bananas, chocolate, or orange juice. Look for things that are higher in potassium or vitamin C. For more information about foods that are good when practicing psionics, go here). Also, make sure you’re eating healthy in general and getting plenty of rest because psionics can affect the physical body a lot. If you are diabetic, please keep a close watch on your blood sugar because psionics can dramatically affect blood sugar. Don’t push yourself too hard, especially in the beginning–your body needs time to get used to using so much of its energy on psionics. When in doubt, please check with your doctor.
I think I hurt myself practicing, what do I do?
First of all, when in doubt, get checked out by a doctor. Assuming that something is energy related when it’s not can be the difference between life and death.
Second, ground and center. A lot of the aches, pains, and headaches that come with over-practicing can be resolved by getting rid of the extra energy or gunk in your field.
Third, rest for a few days. The human energy system is incredibly resilient and will usually repair itself if given time, rest, and appropriate nutrition.
Finally, if none of these work, contact one of the Psion Guild staff who specialize in healing (Amaya, Solet, Nevyn, zhala, or ShadowRain) via IRC.
I think I’m being attacked, what do I do?
First, ground and center. Many people think they’re being attacked when they just have a bit of gunk in their energy field.
Second, shield. Often times, a basic shield will block or discourage whatever might be poking at you.
Finally, if neither of those work, contact one of the Guild staff who specialize in defense (Daimon and drazak) via IRC.
I’m new to psionics, where should I start?
Start with what you’re interested in. For example:
Energy Manipulation: start with psiballs, learn to sense energy, and learn to take care of your energy system by grounding and centering (you take care of it, it’ll take care of you :) )
Psychokinesis: for macro-PK, start practicing with moving a small object, maybe a covered psiwheel or a toothpick and for micro-PK, practice affecting a random number generator or play the micro-PK games at IONS psi-arcade.
Telepathy/Empathy: learn to shield, develop your sensitivity, and practice sending/receiving with a partner.
For a more step-by-step guide to learning psionics, there are different parts of Anka’s Training Manual here and here, and Winged Wolf’s book “Beginning Psionics: A Psionics Training Manual” can be purchased here.
I’m trying to learn ________ ability. Where should I start? Will someone teach me?
Read. Read a LOT. Here are some good places to get started: Psion Guild Articles, Psion Guild Class Logs, Psionic Social Club Class Logs, Psipog Articles, and Veritas Society Psi Articles.
If you still have questions after you’ve read through all of those articles, then ask on the forum or the IRC channel. Very few of the experienced members have much free time, and most of them don’t like to teach the basics because the basics just take a lot of practice and playing around to figure out what works for you. The articles will usually give you all the information you need and from there, just practice, practice, practice until you get it.
To be considered for becoming someone’s official student, you will need to submit an application which involves a research paper.
How long should developing _______ ability take me?
Everyone is different. Some people will catch on to an ability after a few minutes, others it takes months. No abilities are universally easier or harder either. One person may find energy manipulation easy while psychokinesis is hard, yet another person may find the opposite is true. Just keep practicing.
How do I know if I’m charging correctly? What does energy feel like?
Energy feels different to different people. Some people feel heat, others feel cold, others feel a tingling sensation, or a magnet-like repulsing, or a number of other sensations. There are a couple of tests you can do to help figure out if you actually are charging.
The first is simple, hold your hands exactly the same way, and charge one hand but not the other. Now compare. Do they feel different? (This is especially helpful for people who wonder if their hand is going tingly from being held in a position for too long, or if it’s actually gathering energy).
The second test is to take a group of identical objects, like playing cards, and charge one of them (make note of which one), then shuffle them, and without looking, try to sense which one is the one you charged. If you can feel a significant difference and identify the card correctly, then it probably was successfully charged.
I’m having trouble making a psiball, what am I doing wrong?
Psiballs take a lot of experimentation to find what works for you. Just keep practicing and make sure your focus and intent are clear. Also try a few different methods–some methods of directing energy may work better for you than others. If you have trouble getting the psiball to hold its shape then read up on shelling as well.
How do I know when I’ve made a psiball? What should a psiball feel like?
Most people do not see energy with their eyes, and most psiballs are not physically visible (a rare few are, this is an ability called flaring). Energy also feels different to different people. Some people feel heat, others feel cold, others feel a tingling sensation, or a magnet-like repulsing, or a number of other sensations.
The best way to determine if you’ve made a psiball is to learn to sense energy, also called scanning. A good way to practice this, if you don’t have a partner to play pass-the-construct with, is to make three different shapes or colors of psiballs and attach them to three identical index cards. On one side of the cards, write which construct is attached to which. Shuffle them and put them, writing down, on the table. Try to scan them and see which is which, and then check the writing on the cards to see if you were right.
I have a great idea for a construct: it would do ________! Would it be possible to make a construct do ________?
Stop. Have you tried it yourself yet? If not, don’t bother posting. Posting a lot of untested ideas just because you think they’re cool doesn’t do anyone any good. If you’re curious something is possible, try it. If you have a cool construct idea then make it, and get some people to check it out for you and make sure it’s actually doing what you think it was supposed to (be careful not to frontload them by telling them what it’s supposed to do ahead of time). If you’re worried something you’re planning to do might have unintended side effects and you want a critique, then feel free to ask.
Can I make a construct that has a psionic ability that I don’t have? Can I make a psiball that will knock things over or move things? Can I make a shield that will stop bullets?
It is generally not possible to program a construct with a psionic ability that you yourself cannot do. If you can do psychokinesis, it is possible to make a psiball that will move physical objects (they’re known as force bubbles). Shields are meant to block energy not physical objects, so even if you can do psychokinesis enough to make a force bubble, don’t plan on the shield being reliable enough to stop something like a bullet.
I’m having trouble moving a psiwheel, what am I doing wrong?
Moving a psiwheel via psychokinesis takes a lot of experimentation to figure out what works for you. Try some different methods since one may work better for you than others. Also look into learning to communicate with your sub-conscious. Above all, just keep at it. Some people get it right away, others it may take months. Practice, practice, practice.
Can someone help me learn electrokinesis/aerokinesis/pyrokinesis/cryokinesis/biokinesis/hydrokinesis/umbrakinesis/photokinesis/geokinesis/<insertlatinwordhere>kinesis?
This is important. DO NOT use words like these, or you will be thought of as a newbie fluffbunny and your question will probably be ignored by anyone who could actually help you. It is all just psychokinesis, just on different objects. If you want to specify what object, then add the latin prefix to psychokinesis or PK, or say “psychokinesis with _____”. For example:
Correct: bio-PK, pyro-PK, cryo-psychokinesis, psychokinesis with air, etc.
Incorrect: biokinesis, pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, aerokinesis, etc.
Special Note: psychokinesis on living organisms or bio-PK is more correctly known as DMILS (direct mental interaction with living systems).
A few days ago I was able to do _________, and now I can’t anymore, what’s wrong? Did I lose the ability?
Most likely your system is just worn out. Rest a bit for a few days and make sure to eat healthy, and then try again. Abilities also fluctuate a lot when you are first learning, so keep practicing and things will get more consistent.
I read that you should always use your left hand to receive, and your right hand to project. Why don’t you mention this?
“Handedness” is related to which of your hands has a stronger connection to certain areas of your brain. You can manipulate objects better with your dominant hand, whether that is your right or left hand–you can also manipulate psi better with that hand, and in our experience that includes both receiving and projecting. Ideally, you should learn to use both hands, not only one. And of course ambidextrous folks have no such innate bias.
I heard that anything you do psychically comes back to you three times and that if you do anything for yourself or to harm others, it either won’t work or it will backfire. How come you don’t mention this?
This is actually a religious belief and the Guild is a non-religious organization. While some members do have a belief in karma or “the threefold law”, others do not. We do not consider them “universal laws”, therefore we do not make mention of them. Individual morality and ethics is strictly up to the individual–we require only that members follow the Guild code of conduct.
Does the Guild have rules?
Yes. They can be found here.
I noticed something about a chatroom. How do I connect to the Psion Guild IRC channel?
Instructions can be found here.
When will the Guild be doing ________? Why hasn’t __________ been done?
Most of the Guild directors have been occupied with work and school lately, and the number of people on staff is actually very small. If you would like you see something done, feel free to volunteer to one of the directors (Winged Wolf or Amaya).
I’m already a member of a group. Wouldn’t joining the Guild represent a conflict of interests?
Unless some part of the code of conduct or rules of your organization directly conflict with the Psion Guild’s code of conduct, there is no conflict of interests if you wish the join the Guild. In fact, have your entire organization join the Guild, if they want. Our focus is on providing services and aid to psis. What other goals our members may have, how they organize themselves in other ways, and what else they do is entirely up to them. We are more like a co-op or a union than anything else, and we welcome all of you, individuals and groups alike.
Would psi conflict with my religion?
Psi is not a religious practice and does not conflict with any religion any more than any other skill, like martial arts, would. For specific questions regarding Wicca and Paganism, see this section, and for specific questions about Catholicism, see this section. This is of course a personal decision and detailed questions should be directed to your spiritual adviser.