Psychic Vampires

"People are more than food to us. They are the texture of our lives."
- Blood Rites, Elaine Bergstrom

Psychic vampires, energy vampires, psionic vampires...all synonymous names for a surprisingly common, physically mortal being who has a craving for and thrives off of the prana (psychic energy) of living things and/or the energy of the universe. Whether you are a psychic vampire yourself, believe you have been or are being attacked by one, or are merely curious...this is the page in which you will find information and a definition regarding psy-vampirism along with help for protecting yourself from attacks, manipulating and sensing prana, and a host of other related topics. Again I should mention that I don't claim to know it all, and religious-theory based rituals contained within thie page are merely included as basic methods available...Truth, after all, has many different interpretations. So bearing that in mind, please realize that this page it simply a collection of tips, advice and information from personal and collective experience (by no means extensive, either). It's not the gospel truth...you don't have to believe it, agree with it or accept it...just read and see what makes sense to you or not, as you see fit, and I hope it sheds some insight and guidance at the very least.
I know, I know...get on with it, you're saying. My, my aren't we impatient...I'm gettin', I'm gettin'....sheesh.

Part I: How Psychic Vampirism Works

• Definition of a psychic vampire: A psychic vampire (also referred to as a psionic vampire, soul sucker, energy vampire, succubus, incubbus or larvae amongst other things) is a physically mortal being who has an excessive craving for and who feeds upon prana - psychic energy found in all elements of life.
• Energy/Prana: Ask any scientist or occultist alike and they will tell you point blank that all matter is composed of energy. It is all around...in ourselves, in the air we breathe, in the food we eat, in the climate we live in...simply everywhere. We all need energy to live and survive, every being on earth. You've probably heard someone say or used the term yourself "I'm full of energy today!" or "I feel so drained, today". Such a remark probably stems from your own subtle awareness of your body's energy balance. We all have the ability to see and/or sense the energy within us, and this ability can be trained and honed in on with practise and skill (see part IV: How to Perceive energy for more). You may have heard people say that they can see or feel auras. Auras are the surrounding glow of your energy as it passes through your body.
• Energy flow/Kundalini: Prana, or psychic energy, flows into your body in two streams and circulates through your body's "power circuits" - the Meridians (aka Nadis) and the Chakras. This flow is known in India as Kundalini. There are 7 main chakras - crown (top of head), Third Eye (forehead), throat, Heart, Solar Plexus (navel/stomach), Sacral (below naval) and Root (base of spine) - which act as a link between the states of astral ("spiritual") and physical awareness. Chakras also act as our natural alert system to negative energy around us. For example, If you've ever had a "gut feeling" that something was amiss, this is your solar plexus picking up on negative atmospherics. Likewise, most headaches are formed from increased pressure of negative energy in the third eye. This chakra is particularly powerful and perceptive as well, and I should note that some cultures adorn themselves with gems on their forehead in an effort to improve their "third eye sight" (in other words, the perceptiveness of the chakra).
• How normal human beings process energy: As described above, prana flows in two streams throughout our body to be circulated around via the chakras and meridians. That prana/energy will be used and replaced depending on need, with the aid of food, rest, environment, etc...and provided you are fairly healthy, your body will maintain a more or less even level and balance of energy.
• How psychic vampires process energy: With psy-vamps also, prana flows through the body in two streams to be circulated around via the chakras & meridians. But psychic vampires are like a leaking cup...in effect, prana will leak out at weak spots in the aura. In addition to this leaking energy, there is of course also the normal burning off of energy...thus putting added stress on the body's ability to maintain a normal energy balance, and thus also forcing it to compensate by draining the energy from other sources. Some psy-vamps never even realize what they are...but generally, when realization does hit, it is usually following some sort of traumatic event (sickness, puberty, intense stress,etc) when energy levels are at their weakest. In a similar manner to vision questing...this weakness of the body will put the being in better contact with their astral (spiritual) self....often keying the vampire in (through dreams, etc) to their nature.
• How normal humans Acquire Energy: Energy can be found in the air we breathe which sustains our life, the food we eat which sustains our body, and the rest we take which sustains our soul. Breathing is an involuntary action and the most essential form of energy we take into ourselves. And our bodies know this....it is why we pass out if we hold our breath too long, so that normal breathing can commence again. We also need the energy contained in food...without food obviously, we lose our strength, wither away into nothingness and die. And as for rest...if our body suffers from too much activity all at once or goes into shock, we will slip into a comatose state so that the body can try to slowly regain its energy. Of course there are other sources we draw our energy from, but these are three prime sources you will most likely be able to directly relate to. The energy we take in is absorbed into our bodies and souls to power our physical organs, our mental process as well as our sense of well-being.
• How the vampire can acquire additional energy: First off, it's important to note that anyone can take additional energy through these means if they really wanted to; however, the psychic vampire has an actual need and craving to somehow acquire additional energy....and often, they will do so without even knowing that it is occuring. The most common source to draw from is, of course, another human being....this can occur through eye contact, touch, sexual intercourse, intense conversation, dreams, and yes - even exchanging blood. Another source to draw energy from is the ionosphere...that level of energy invisible to the human eye which supports ultraviolet, radio, satelite, etc energy waves. If this is the case, then often microwaves, radios, cellphones,etc will tend to malfunction around the vampire. Then there is sheer electricity...anything powered by batteries or electrical outlets...watches might stop, tv's and computers may malfunction, etc. And finally...there is the energy of nature to be drawn from...storms, raging oceans, earthly vortices, even intense sunlight. In each case, the vampire reaches out with astral "tentacles" towards its target and pulls in its energy. More on this will be covered in Part V: How to Manipulate energy.

Part II: Effects of psychic vampirism
Victims of psychic vampire attacks will suffer different results, ranging in severity. Generally, the victim will feel unusually tired after being around a certain person for some time or following an uncommonly vivid dream (this may be the effect of a psychic vampire attacking you while asleep), or having an intense and/or traumatic interaction with someone. You might feel minor headaches to severe migraines...minor stomach upsets to severe abdominal cramping....light heartburn to suffering a stroke....minor fatigue to paralyzing immobility. To those able to see auras, an attack victim's aura is often covered in black splotches sometimes accompanied by black protruding "tentacles" which flow from the victim directly to the psychic vampire. These tentacles are only viewable when the psychic vampire is feeding generally at close distances, however; it should be noted that some exceptionally strong psy-vamps can maintain the link to their victims over great distances and continue to drain, and drain, and drain....
Usually the effect of psychic draining is recoverable with plenty of rest and proper nutrition, and only lasts for a short period of time. However, if you are in constant contact with a psychic vampire, the effects of psychic draining may become drawn out and increasingly severe, sometimes even resulting in death.
While chances are higher that you will be killed in an airplane crash than suffer to any great extent at the hands of a psychic vampire, people are effected by psychic vampires more commonly than might be expected. Some psychic vampires are aware of what they are doing, but more often than not, the vampire does not even know he/she is draining a victim. And the horrible thing is, it's sort of a domino effect...the weaker a person is in energy, the less defense the person has from psychic attacks, and therefore the more attractive and easy prey the person becomes to a psy-vamp on the prowl. In essence, it's like spilled blood to a shark...the wounded are first to be attacked.
Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to protect yourself from becoming a psychic vampire's next walking buffet table. More on that in Part III: how to protect yourself and recover from psy-vamp attacks

Part III: How to Protect yourself and recover from psy-vamp attacks
The following are some suggestions on how to protect yourself from vampire attacks and/or recover from them.

• Awareness: To protect yourself and/or recover from any psychic vampire attack you must of course, first realize you have been or are being attacked. To do this, you must cultivate awareness within yourself. Practising meditation, following any suggestions from "Part IV: How to perceive energy" or just trying to focus and become more attuned daily and in general to your body's subtle reactions to its environment will help to achieve awareness and develop intuiton.
• Rest, Eat, and Relax: If you feel drained and excessively tired after being around a certain person on rare occasions, and you believe it is because he/she is a psy-vamp, the most effective thing you can do is just sleep, eat and relax. For at least a week or so, keep a regular sleep cycle, eat nutritious balanced meals, and meditate/listen to music/relax. This should help replenish your normal level of energy. Light Exercise in addition to resting, eating and relaxing will also help to build up your natural psychic defense system and boost your energy levels.
• Closing the Circuit: If you believe you are being attacked by a psychic vampire at a specific moment and want to block the vampire from feeding, the quickest way to do so is by sitting in the following posture. Cross your ankles and place the tips of your index fingers and thumbs (of each opposing hand) together. This will close off your personal cycle of energy to the outside world and looks casual and unobtrusive when you are in public places.
• Aura Cleansing: And I don't mean a puppy lick, here, folks....we're talking about some deep down and dirty energy cleansing. The aura, as I've explained is the energy that surrounds your body and as such can be "cleaned" to help the body, mind and spirit to become healthier. The next time you are taking a shower or a bath, take some deep breaths and really make an effort to feel the water against your skin. Visualise that this water is cleansing away all the weak spots you perceive intuitively throughout your body. If you know are good at meditation, try visualizing our energy and finding out where dark patches may breach the light. If you can actually see auras, you may view long black astral "tentacles" issuing forth from the weak, dark spots in your aura. If this is the case, a psy-vamp is probably still attacking you from a distance. You'll need to sever the tie. To do this, imagine the pure light of the universe, the light of your energy issuing in a beam from your fingertips. Use this beam to slice through the tentacles, then allow the water and its energy to wash away the remaining black splotches. You may consider additionally following the advice under "Astral Fortification", listed below.
• Cast the Circle: Allow us to indulge in the wonderful world of simplified wicca 101 for a moment or two. The point of casting a circle is mainly to clean a sacred space for yourself to be protected from nasty, not so nice forces of energy. This is designed for use following aura cleansing and once completed will give you the additional chance to meditate in a safe spiritual environment as well as combine acts of meditation with astral fortification, if you chose. First, you'll need a small amount of salt, sand or dirt....a small dish of water...a candle (preferably white or black)...some incense...and finally, a compass to determine which direction is North. Determine your sacred area of choice and roughly imagine the shape of a circle to surround it. To the North of the circle, place the element of earth (the salt/sand/dirt). To the south place the candle (fire) but do not light it. To the West (water) place the dish of water. And to the East place the incense (air), but do not light it. Stand in the center of the circle facing East and take some deep breaths until you are calm and focused on the task at hand only. Ask in your own words that nature, your deity of choice or the world in general offers you protection from the East, purified by the element of air. Light the incense and walk around the perimeter of the circle until you reach East again, then put the incense back down on the ground. Face South and ask again for protection from the south, purified by the element of fire. Light the candle and walk around the perimeter until you reach south again, and put the candle on the ground. Face West, ask it for protection purified by the element of water. Walk around the perimeter splashing little bits of water as you walk, then out the water back at the western location. Turn North and ask it for protection purified by the element of earth, then walk around the perimeter sprinkling salt/sand/etc as you go. Return to place it on the ground at North's spot. Stand in the center of the circle and look above you. Imagine a symbol that represents power and security for you (a cross, ankh, God figure,whatever applies), and imagine that symbol projected into the air above your head. Ask it for protection. Then look below your feet, beyond the floor, and again imagine the symbol of power and ask it for protection. Turn to the spaces in between each of the four elemental anchors of the circle and for each, imagine the symbol projected into the air and ask for protection. Finally, imagine the bubble surrounding you and protecting you and state something like "I stand in a sacred space. No negative forces/energy may enter here." Thus, your circle is cast.
• Astral Fortification: This is a method designed for slightly more advanced students learning about prana. It should be performed as an extension to astral cleansing and meditation, so if you don't know how to do either of these things, learn how under the descriptions above and below. To create a psychic shield for yourself, first you must lead yourself into a state of meditative repose, to the point described under the meditation section of "Part IV: How to perceive energy" as separation between body and spirit and then allowing the light to fill you. Once you are at that level of meditative state, astrally fortifying yourself is fairly simple. Repeat a mantra silently to yourself along the lines of "I am protected from all psychic harm" and visualize astral spikes forming upon your aura. When the spikes cover your aura entirely, say that the spikes will keep out harm at all time. Take some deep breaths, then more forcefully to yourself say that the spikes will appear under any astral attack. Release the glowing ball of light as normal and watch your astral spikes "fold down" in waiting. Reconnect to your sense of self as normal. In the future this psychic shielding effect should help protect against psychic vampire and other invading astral attacks. It is a good idea to repeat this rite every once in awhile.

Part IV: How to Perceive Energy
The following are some common, basic starting points on how to perceive, hone in and recognize the existence of pranic enery. And not all people learn the same, so if one method doesn't work for you...don't give up...try another. And be sure to give this some time, too...like any skill, practise makes perfect...

• Meditation: This method is listed first because I personally believe it is the most vital, direct and full-fledged way a person can come to terms with perceiving one's own energy and that of the universe around you. Incidently, the practise of meditation and the methods to do so originates from Hindu sacred scriptures (the aranyakas contained within the 4 Vedas), which have been honed and refined through practise over many centuries by yogis and gurus seeking spiritual enlightenment through detachment from the material world and the self. You'll need first and foremost a quiet space where you can sit uninterrupted and where you feel comfortable. The "traditional" yoga meditation pose is to sit crosslegged with your spine straight, arms slightly away from your body and bent to rest on your thighs with hands palm upward and thumb and middle finger connecting lightly. However, you can approach posture in other manners...lay down flat on your back if it makes you feel more comfortable. But the position I most suggest is to sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground, spine drawn up straight, butt all the way against the back of the chair, arms slightly away from the body resting comfortably folded in your lap. The idea of sitting rigidly is designed to create a feeling of fatigue making you thereby more aware of your body. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Gradually focus on these breaths, attempting to "view from a distance" and gradually dissipate all other thoughts in your mind and all happenings in the world around you. Breathe slowly and deeply in and out, imagine dirty black clouds of smoke which represent negative energy leaving your body as you exhale. Imagine speckles of gold light entering your body and filling it as you inhale. If you have a hard time imagining light and dark as you breathe try instead to focus on that "hinge" moment between exhaling and inhaling and vice versa. Allow yourself to slip into that gap. Focus on your breathing until you feel relaxed and totally undistracted. Where does the source of your being come from? In otherwords, where is your attention directed within yourself...forehead, heart...? Wherever you feel you are most connected to in a meditative state, is the core of your being. If you allow yourself to extend that focus gradually, you may visualize and/or sense how that essence of yourself fills, flows through and animates your entire body. Follow that essence to your feet. Can you feel the energy within yourself animating your feet - in other words the connection between your spirit and your physical body? There should be a slight tension, tingling feeling, etc. Let the "tension" go by visualizing the energy in your foot "shutting down" for a bit. Continue to shut down and relax your body bit by bit as you travel upwards. Take your time to make sure that every bit of your body becomes relaxed...this might take some effort to get right, but you'll essentially feel sort of a sense of your body separating from your spirit in the end. And yes, it is natural to be frightened the first few times you experience this...although do not allow your fears to overcome you, for when you get beyond relaxing the entire body, a state of absolute bliss and relief will ensue. The head and brain will probably be the most difficult to power down but when you succeed, your "thinking" under meditative state will also take on new dimensions. Allow yourself a few minutes to get adjusted to this new sense of being, then, imagine a glowing ball of pure light and revitalizing, protective energy floating just above your head (some people find it helpful to place or suspend a candle for symbolism above their heads prior to meditation). Visualize pulling this light down into the core of your being and gradually expanding to fill your spirit from the inside out, pushing away any dark spots of negative energy, until it radiates throughout and forms a circle of light around your entire form (don't forget under your feet, the top of your head and under your back as well). When the light is surrounding you, allow your thoughts to drift at leisure where they will. You may find a solution to that problem that has been facing you for weeks, or a flash of memory may come to you on where you put your lost keys. Basically, just lose yourself in the moment and be (This is incidently the first step to astral projection, but that's another lecture topic for another time). When you feel you are done "being", release the glowing ball of light slowly back into the atmosphere while still keeping its light flowing throughout your body. Then, from your head down you'll need to reverse the process of shutting down your body. In other words, reconnect the spirit to the body and feel the new, revitalized energy filling and reanimating your limbs. Take some more deep, long breaths and then open your eyes slowly. You should feel revitalized and full of new energy running through your body.
• Dowsing: This is a quick, simple visual method to show you that there is distinct and different energy within each of us and all matter on earth. Traditionally, dowsing rods have been used to find ley lines for water...but in the world of occultism, dowsing rods can be used as a tool to help hone in on a person's aura. This is the technique you will to some extent learn of here. So, you'll need one dowsing rod which you can buy from a new age supply store or make for yourself by bending a coat wire so it forms a shape like this |'''''''''''''''''''''''''' . Hold the dowsing rod's handle (the short side) loosely but firmly in your fist, with arm bent naturally at your side, about 10-15 inches in front of your body. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths and spend a few moments just clearing your mind. Have a group of friends stand behind you in different locations so you don't know where they are. When it feels right, ask the dowsing rod to point to a person (so if one of your friends' names is Sue say "please point to Sue" or "Where is Sue?"). The rod should start to turn in the direction of said person, usually fairly quickly, although sometimes it takes awhile. There are other experiments you can do with dowsing rods, but this is the most simple demonstration which generally works best for beginners.
• Aura Reading/Sensing: The aura consists of a series of layers of energy eminating from the form of a human being. Most people can sense or see the aura with a little bit of practise. To learn how to sense the aura better, I suggest you refer to the next three energy perception methods entitled "Nature's Recipe", "Team Effort" and "Playing Games". I will describe a method on how to learn to see the aura here. First, you'll need a solid white background and either another human being or a clear view of select body parts of your own. If you have another person, stand them against the background. Different people may be able to see auras differently and more strongly around certain body parts than others...my suggestion is to start with focus on the toes or the fingers first tho, and work your way to viwing the entire aura from there. If you have difficulties focusing on small sections first, you might try viewing the entire body instead. How to focus your eyes to go about actually seeing the aura is much like seeing one of those magic eye computer generated pictures...or looking through a shower door at something beyond. Basically, it's like looking through the air surrounding a person. If looking at toes or hands, look through the air surrounding the fingers and toes...you should see a faint glow either close to the skin or far away. It may be colored or black and white (some people can't see auras in colour, apparantly). But either way, it will be a glowing sort of "shell". The stronger this shell looks, the stronger the person's energy is, and vice versa. You can also purchase goggles that are specially designed to train your eyes to view auras. You might find these at some new age stores or ghost hunting societies.
• Nature's Recipe: Uh-oh, I'm about to turn pagan on ya'll. Okay, perhaps not...but this is a little act for which nature will provide to help show you the energy of all living things. Go outside. Now. No, wait, hold on...that would sort of defeat the purpose since you couldn't read the actual experiment and you'd merely end up waiting outside probably trying to hug every tree in sight and getting hit on by some weird ex hippy types. But eventually...go outside. Find a flower that agrees with you (hehe, I know...flowers don't talk back, agreeable things that they are and all...but I meant, find a flower that you feel drawn to) . Close your eyes and take several deep breaths and focus on clearing your mind...breathing in gold light and breathing out dark, dirty clouds. When your mind is clear (or maybe some of you start out with minds like that anyway, hehe), begin to rub the palms of your hands together at first slowly, then briskly for a minute or two. Separate your hands, open your eyes, then try pushing your palms together slowly. You should feel a subtle repelling force...sort of like magnets of the same polarity reacting...or a heat/tingling running just between the two palms. Nifty, huh? Okay...now take a palm and place it over the blossom of the flower. What do you feel? You may have a similar repelled sort of sensation, or you may feel drawn "into" the flower, or you may simply feel a sensation of heat and tingling again. Whatever the case...the effects you are feeling is the interaction between your energy and that of the plant.
• Team Effort: This works similar to the flower experiment listed above under nature's recipe, only it will help you to perceive the energy of other human beings instead of that of plants. So, this time, you'll follow exactly the same steps as in "Nature's recipe" up to the point of trying to put your palms together. Instead of putting your hand over the blossom of the flower, this time try to slowly put your palm together with that of another person. Again you may feel repelled, drawn in or merely a heat/tingly sensation. This is how you perceive the interaction between yourself and the other person.
• The "Ghost-hunter's" method: Here is another method for you visual learners out there. People who hunt down and photograph ghosts for a living will tell you that hauntings are generally accompanied by an increase in the electromagnetic field. To view this change, they employ a device known as an EMF (Electro Magnetic Field) detector...it looks sort of like spedometer on a car and you may have seen them being used on tv in ghost movies and the like. Anyway...you can monitor these changes around people too, if you suspect they are a psy-vamp, the results should be similar. Furthermore, there are ultraviolet goggles available to help develop your ability to see the aura, which ghost hunters also use.

Part V: How to Manipulate Energy

If you are a psychic vampire, or you for some reason feel the need to learn how to manipulate energy, here are some methods on how to cultivate the skills to do so. Some are extensions on methods under Part III: How to perceive Energy. I am presenting these methods merely for completeness. Please note that I do not advocate the notion of forced psychic feeding on a large scale...please consider balancing your energy so as not to harm others. See "Part VI: how to balance energy " for helpful tips.

• The Daisy-Chain: This is an experiment in manipulating natural energy. It is basically the same as "Nature's Recipe" listed under Part IV, except this time instead of just feeling energy, you are going to attempt to channel its flow. Follow all steps listed in said excercise up until the very end, then - with your palm still flat above the flower blossom - attempt to pull the energy out of the plant into yourself. If it helps, imagine an unending string attached to the plant and being pulled continuously through your palm, up into your arm, and dispersing throughout your body. You may begin to feel hot or tingly all over, but most especially in your hand and arm. Now give the energy back to the plant...hold your hand straight down over the plant, fingertips just above the blossom as though you were going to dive your fingers into the flower. Imagine pushing your energy out through your fingertips down into the plant. Your hand and arm and general body may begin to feel heavy and/or cold. These are the effects of channeling energy in both directions...do not give or take energy for extended periods of time, but practise in short segments of a minute or two back and forth until you get the hang of it.
• The Bad Touch: This is an experiment in manipulating natural energy. It is basically the same as "Team Effort" listed under Part IV, except this time instead of just feeling energy, you are going to attempt to channel its flow. Follow all steps listed in said excercise up until the very end, then have your partner point his/her fingertips (palm down) towards the center of your palm, without touching. Have your partner try to push his/her energy out through his/her fingertips and into your palm, while you attempt to pull the energy out of your partner's hand into yourself. If it helps, imagine an unending string attached to his/her hand which is being pulled continuously through your palm, up into your arm, and dispersing throughout your body. You may begin to feel hot or tingly all over, but most especially in your hand and arm, while your partner's hand, arm and body may begin cold and/or heavy. Then give energy back to your partner by reversing the process. These are the effects of channeling energy in both directions...do not give or take energy for extended periods of time, but practise in short segments of a minute or two back and forth until you get the hang of it.
• Dream-Catching: This is an advanced excercise in which you will have to already know how to practise astral projection. I will not get into astral projection here as this is a skill that take a phenomenal amount of practise to achieve and describing the processes here would take me pages and pages even tho they really have nothing pertinent to do with psychic vampirism directly. So, assuming you already have these skills...the rest is fairly simple. The idea here is to reach out and find someone on the astral plane who is sleeping and unguarded. You'll see their astral body...and you'll see dark patches (weak spots) within it, also. Imagine an astral arm gradually extending out from your spirit self and delving into these weak spots within the sleeper's astral form to. Visualize pulling the person's energy into your own astral self and dispersing it throughout. Do this for only a few moments at a time. If you are strong you can maintain this astral link to "reach out and touch someone" (and pretend you are AT&T) at will. But best to break the connection by withdrawing your astral arm and just returning to body as normal.

 

Part VI: How to Balance Energy

Whether you're a psychic vampire or not, it is vital that you stableize and balance your energy once in awhile. Here are some helpful methods on how to do so. Afterwards, if you don't feel more awake, active and generally energized we'll refund 100% of your money...and even give you back the shipping and handling. :)

• Meditation: Yes, yes..I can hear you now...here she goes with the meditation sensation you're saying,. Mmm, Mmm baby it feels so good. But my dear, sweet, darling visitor...you know I wouldn't mention it if it weren't one of the most splendiferous things in the known universe. Sooo, refer to Part III: How to protect yourself and recover from psychic vampire attacks and get to meditating. There are no changes necessary to the procedure.
• Aura Cleansing: Refer to Part III: How to protect yourself and recover from psychic vampire attacks. No changes necessary.
• Circle Casting: Refer to Part III: How to protect yourself and recover from psychic vampire attacks. No changes necessary.
• Astral fortification: Refer to Part III: How to protect yourself and recover from psychic vampire attacks. No changes necessary.
• Back to Earthy Roots: So, it's difficult these days to be able to get very close to nature sometimes (sad to say, to some of you, the concept of trees might even be a rare notion). We live in a world of chemical-filled air in which we are often under constant stress and inundated with daily things to worry about. This puts a strain on our natural flow of energy, makes us tired and weak, so it's helpful once in awhile just to return to nature and soak in the natural energy of the world, feel your connection to everything once more. This task is easy...simple go to a secluded or peaceful area in the wildnerness alongside a stream or lake or other body of water and submerse your feet up to the ankles...or if you're really feeling adventurous, go for a swim in the nude. Really feel the water run across your flesh and revitalize you...take deep breaths of fresh air...admire the trees, the greenery, the earth. Build a sandcastle, if you're on a beach or run your fingers through the dirt. Really immerse yourself in and connect to natural surroundings for a substantial period of time and forget all else. By the end of this period you should feel much more relaxed, uplifted and euphoric.
• Toys and learning aides: Alright, so does everyone have their whips, handcuffs, gags, blindfolds and...oh, um...oops....sorry, wrong lecture topic ;) Okay, now that I have your attention though...drag yourself down to the nearest occult good shop and buy a crystal, some candles, some incense and some oils...and that's an order, slave. Else you shall be severely punished by the wrath of unbalanced energy forever more. Anyway, to get to the point - and somewhere in here, I do have one - these items are not designed to balance your energy alone, but rather can be used in conjunction with other methods listed above to strengthen and help the process. You should purchase a crystal that you feel draw too. This can then be held during meditation to strengthen and promote energy flow while "centering" your being. Incense and oils (especially patchouli and sandalwood) promote psychic awareness. I already mentioned that some people find it useful to place a candle above their head to help visualize the white light of protection, in addition it is also a good idea to use a black candle to neutralize and "absorb" negative energy. Beyond that, I'm not going to get into too much detail...for entry level and a basic concept this should be enough. If you want to get more involved, there are always books, other websites, and other occult practitioners out there which can give you more information.

Part VII: Other Tips, advice and suggestions for psy-vampires

• Got Yoghurt? - Did you know that the live cultures in yoghurt are an extra nutritious bonus for hungry psy-vamps? Focus your attention on such gastronomic delights instead of people for awhile. Incidently, i've heard this is also a good suggestion for blood vampires to try too.

• Walk the middle path - Balance, friend, it's all about balance. Instead of having to bother with constant "quick fixes" that act as a temporary band-aid to your energy deficiency problem, try to get control of yourself with a long-term solution found by seeking to balance and stableize your energy. See part VI for some helpful methods.

• Tie me up, tie me down - (and yes, for those of you who caught that reference, Almodovar rules!...anyway...) It's only natural that there's a rush of power that comes with stealing someone's energy. This is the effect of psychic vampirism at it's core....manipulating someone's life in the palm of your proverbial hand. Rather than indulge your need for this rush of power with an unwilling victim, find your pleasures in the wonderful world of BDSM. Seek out nightclubs, gatherings and fetish events where you can find someone willing to be submissive to your needs and desires, thereby taking your pleasure while giving some in return.

Part VIII: Great places to visit for energy purposes

• Sedona, Arizona: This new-age mecca nestled in between beautiful red rock canyons is energized by mutliple natural vortices. The effect is some overwhelmingly heady energy compensation directly from Mother nature.

• Cherokee, North Carolina: An Indian reservation nestled in the heart of the beautiful appalachian mountains, the fresh air, clean water and intense spiritual atmosphere around here are extremely relaxing, even amidst the kitschy merchandise you can buy and the hordes of tourists littering the area.

• Lake Tahoe, California: Boasting some of the coldest and deepest waters in North America, Lake Tahoe was once used for Native Americans to bury their dead. Again, the air, water and atmosphere is fresh, clean and very natural, helping you to feel relaxed and revitalized.

• Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany: This quaint, sleepy little town is the epitome of Bavaria. It holds a hidden gem, one of the most awe-inspiring sites of nature's fury you will ever see, and that is a very large gorge which winds its way through a jagged canyon with its icy cold waters cutting savagely away at the rocks over the years. You can walk all the way up along the waterfall, feeling as though you have literally entered another time and space...especially in winter when snow caps the mountains around you and ice stalagtites cling to the canyon walls. You can really feel the ground beneath you pulsating with life and spend a few hours alone with your thoughts while wandering along the path.

• New York, LA, London, Paris, any other big "modern" cities of the world: Big cities are full of life and energy...often stressful, negative energy, but energy nonetheless. People are all over the place usually running on adrenaline and radiating vibes and emotions one way or another. It would be very easy for a psychic vampire to pick up on an open human energy source or two and feed at will.