Practice

Like a challenging sport or a musical instrument, ESP requires diligent training. However, unlike sports or music, your progress can be difficult to measure due to the fleeting nature of psychic phenomena (it's hard to predict how or when it will work). Frustration levels can be high, but the key to success is not giving up (you should also know that there's no guarantee of success once you start trying to develop your ESP abilities; if you don't try, you definitely won't achieve what you want).

"Set aside some time for practice. Calm your mind, put on some soft, soothing music, and try to relax," recommends Russell Steward. "Let your thoughts wander. Sometimes an image of a summer scene, a field, or a sunlit meadow helps. This all comes from getting used to information coming to you from a different source. The more you practice, the easier it becomes. Try pausing before you start. For example, when the phone rings, wait a few seconds before answering. Can you tell who's calling? Try this when someone knocks on your door. Try this at work. Can you tell when someone is happy, sad, or busy?"

Such exercises require concentration, a skill you must develop in yourself as well. "You must have incredible concentration," writes Joe Cepeda in his article "How Do You Improve Your ESP Ability?". "The kind of concentration that makes you ignore the crowd in a football stadium when you touch the ball, and that allows you to remember where you stood while reading a book, recall a friend's face, or recall a situation. Thoughts then flow incredibly fast. Every nanosecond represents thousands or millions of thoughts flowing back and forth. Each person receives and sends thoughts outside their own mind. Imagine all the radio stations broadcasting on the same frequency on your receiver at the same time, and you'll have a clue what's flowing through your mind at any given moment. Now imagine you can only receive one radio transmission."

Don't let frustrations or failures hold you back. Be realistic. You can't wait a few days to practice; then you'll be able to predict when Uncle Antek will call or who will win the World Cup final. Paranormal abilities, even those highly developed, can be unpredictable and inconsistent. The trick is recognizing when your ESP is triggered... this will come with experience.