Basic Tools

The only vital tool that a psion of any kind needs is Willpower. Everything else can either be called a crutch, a tool or a liability. As you grow in power you will find that what once was a crutch will become a valuable tool, and what once was a valuable tool will become a liability.

When first starting out, objects or motions can be helpful for focussing intent and guiding energy. Know that though they are useful, they are not necessary, and everything that you use them for can be done without tools altogether. Be aware when it is time to put the 'training wheels' away and begin working without them.

I will now list a few basic 'tools' and their usefulness.

Triggers: Triggers are actions or body positions which have become so associated with a specific energy technique that one only needs to perform the trigger in order to have the technique be performed. For example, one could associate the technique of shielding with the motion of crossing one's arms over one's chest, or one could associate a chakra probing to a knocking motion with the finger.

Triggers are learned by repeated association. Whenever practicing a specific technique, one should also perform the trigger to which it is desired that the technique become associated with. In this way, extremely difficult or complicated techniques can be associated with very simple motions and performed with ease on a more subconscious level, meaning without having it necessary to deepen one's perception to as great of an extent.

Most psions attempt to associate every technique with a unique trigger, finding it to be a timeless tool. It is true that triggers rarely become liabilities. Still, once a trigger has been successfully formed you may find it useful to begin practicing the technique without the trigger on occasion, so that you don't forget how to do it yourself.

Breathing: Deep breathing is a very useful tool in many ways, but can quickly become a liability in other cases. Breathing is a natural connector between the conscious and unconscious faculties of the mind since it is a naturally unconscious process which can easily be performed by the conscious mind. Focussing on breathing creates a connection between the two faculties and increases awareness. This natural property of breath, coupled with the power of trigger association, makes breathing the most natural tool to aid in deepening one‘s consciousness.

Breathing can also be a psychological crutch to aid with drawing in energy (by deeply breathing in) or releasing it (by strongly breathing out). Know that this is not an actual association, but a form of trigger association and it is a bad habit that should be broken early. Without breaking this habit then one will find it difficult to sustain an inflow of energy while breathing out, or an outflow of energy while breathing in.

Gemstones: Gemstones can be very powerful tools to aid with almost every technique. Different gemstones have different properties which can help in different ways. Some make natural foci for Shielding, such as Amethyst or Onyx. Some can store moderate amounts of energy for you, such as quartz or diamond. Some can aid in grounding such as Garnet or Carnelian.

Know that although gemstones can be very useful tools for beginners and the non-awakened, once a psion reaches the intermediate level their benefit in energy work is dramatically reduced. This is because anything a gemstone can do the psion will eventually be able to do to a far superior degree.

Wands: Wands made out of quartz crystal can be useful at first to direct the flow of energy and can dramatically increase a novice's range with sight-based energy manipulation. Once one grows out of reliance on spatial orientation, however, the use of wands become obsolete.

Jewellery:
As mentioned above, gemstones can be very powerful tools. Wearing a gemstone, coupled with a precious metal, can have drastic effects. Tools in this form can be split up into four categories: protective, enhancing, realigning and active. Protective jewellery is worn in order to keep certain energies or entities at bay. They can be used to supplement or contemplate shields. Enhancing jewellery is worn to enhance one’s abilities, psychic or otherwise. Realigning jewellery is worn to change one’s energy pattern to produce a change in personality or fortunes. Finally, active jewellery is not worn to have an ongoing effect but rather to have it readily available to aid in specific tasks. For more information on the use of jewellery or gemstones and their specific effects one should consult a book devoted to the subject.

Other Tools:
There are a great many other tools at a psion’s disposal. If you find them useful then by all means use them. Pay attention to how much they are helping you, however, and constantly ask yourself if they are still necessary tools or if they have become an impediment preventing you from progressing.

I don't understand the dismissive attitude some people have to using tools. It's kind of rude to refer to them as a "crutch" or as "training wheels" as it suggests "my way is better than your way, nyah nyah!" Can we instead respect all traditions and the different ways of working? Just something to think about.

I'm sorry if my post came off as disrespectful - that ceertainly wasn't my intent. I'm not clear what in particular turned you off either. Was I wrong? can not Willpower, eventually, learn to use energy better than a gemstone?

I'm not saying any path is wrong, I'm saying to remain aware for when then path you are on no longer serves you. I still use triggers for almost everything, for example, though I hope some day my awareness will be refined enough to where they are no longer necessary. I'm also speaking from a place where I have experienced the 'wall' of tool reliance (both is breath misassociation and 'outgrowing' my gem collection in healing - though I still use gems as a tool to help me focus on certain energies and carry some for assistance in realigning). I'm also speaking from the place of a guide and mentor, having taught energy work to several people and helped many others that I have called or that have called me get over blocks in their progress.

Basically what I'm saying is that every path to energy, if followed past its ending point, will lead to Pure Consciousness and the power of the individual. Tools that were once your passion must be thrown away at some point or they will impede your progress.

Oh, I definitely agree that if something is no longer working for you that you need to change methods. There's few things worse than a religious/spiritual practice that stagnates because you're clinging onto dogma and refusing to change or adapt your practice.

Going from this line of thought to saying using tools is "inferior" and must eventually be thrown out is unnecessary, though. There are schools of thought that believe that tools in of themselves posses no power, but there are others who believe they are either sacred objects or imbued with Spirit/Deity. If you do believe the tools themselves have power, a human's personal willpower cannot substitute for it because it is not the same.

And don't worry about it; I can tell it wasn't your intent. Different folks have different traditions and ways of thinking about tools. It's mostly particular choices of words that could be seen as offensive. For example, if someone calls something you find sacred and valuable a "crutch" you probably aren't going to react too well. >_<;

[WhiteWarrior]

I know that crystals were important to me in the beginning. They still have their uses to me but I no longer look to them for energy - I find that everywhere now.

Thank you for your criticism, Quint. I will try to be more... diplomatic.

Naw, you weren't that bad, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's hard to be that vigilantly mindful of how we speak about things, so I don't blame ya for it. =)

"By hidden Quintessence we know Them, and we will keep silent and
dare". ;-)

Any divination tool can and has been considered a "Crutch".
Cause all they are is to either help us focus or for showmanship some wiccans use them as ritual.
Tools themselves have no powers they just help the person focus there gifts.
If I am reading I generally hold a persons finger tips and do a reading.
If I am sick or under the weather or had a lot of stress that week I will use divination. We are the most powerful magickal things out there we have life and we can wonder,think contemplate and love. That truly is more powerful then a deck of cards.wand or anything else. So I completely agree Yama. However I see where your coming from also Quint and we must respect those who use these divinations. Including the tools themselves.

Certain tools have power in and of themselves. Gemstones and Tarot Cards for example are filled with their own energy alignments. Certain tools don't have intrinsic energies, like casting bones or tying knots out of coloured string. Regardless, the fountain of potential that is within each human spirit is overwhelmingly massive, so much so that any other object or energy found within this world or even within the spiritual world pales in comparison. Before this potential is realized certain tools will seem amazing and special and it may seem that their power is greater than you can achieve. If you keep thinking that, and keep working with them, then they will always remain the pinacle and you will always remain inferior to them. If you continue grow in your own potential, however, then at some point you will realize that the crutches that first helped you walk, which then remained valuable tools that helped you a great deal, have become obsolete... because you are greater than them and no longer need them. If you ever reach this realization then you will know it is both a sad and joyous occasion - sad because it's like saying good bye to a good friend who has been with you for a long, long time... joyous because you know you have grown and matured and that the next leg of the journey will be vast and exciting.

Depending on your stage of development and how you want to grow, a certain tool may be valueable for a very long time. There is no shame in that. Some people may want to keep reading through tarot cards because it is familiar and simple to them, even when they have reached the point where they can read cold. I never said tools were bad... I never said they were weak or that they don't work. I only ever wanted to say that YOU are strong... YOU are stronger than anything that comes into your hands. If you don't realize that then you don't know the vast potential which is within you. If you forget it then you will stop growing.

I still rely on certain crutches and make use of certain tools. As a religious Jew I rely on certain holy objects (ie. Teffilin) for my daily spiritual practice. I ground the wards around my apartment through gemstones because I have not yet succeeded in SAFELY grounding my wards directly. I no longer rely on visualizations but now and then, especially when I am experimenting, I still make use of them. I am at a point in my practice where physical boundaries (ie walls) are still useful to anchor my sacred spaces, but I have found that I can quite easily make them without walls. Still, when there's a wall around I always extend to it even if I only need the space to be a foot away from it - the practice of anchoring to walls has now become a liability and I need to break that habit.

Realizing your potential is a process - one that is never ending... unless you allow it to end.