Introduction
Divination is as natural as breath and breathing. The Greek goddess Psyche was, among other things, the goddess of breath and the soul. The meaning of the Greek word psyche is literally "breath." The soul and breath were intertwined and are regarded so in many cultures.
We do not struggle to breathe. Similarly, use of the psychic ability is something that happens with ease. One does not work to achieve a Ph.D. in psychic awareness any more than one studies to breathe. It comes naturally and with ease. And the younger we are, the more naturally we breathe. All we need to do is to watch an infant sleep, watch the deep and relaxed breaths, to see how natural it is.
From Chapter 1
Omens are rooted very much in the human condition. People have always wanted some security in the face of the unknown. We have always wanted certainty and a measure of control over that which was coming to be. To a cave dweller ten thousand years ago, the world must have seemed a scary place. For one thing, this cave dweller did not know whether he would have enough food to last the winter. If the right animal did not come his way he or if he and his fellow hunters did not locate enough food before the snows came, he would die, along with his family and community.
Human beings are the only species on this planet with a consciousness of mortality. And there is no doubt that omens are a response to our ancient fear of death. It is the knowledge of our mortality that gives us a notion of time passing and time coming to be.
We look for signs to guide us into the unknown. We are the only species that consciously plans and tries to live beyond the here and now. We are the only species that wants to know what will happen. And how. And when. And where. And we are undoubtedly the only species that asks "why?"
Originally omens were quite natural. Human beings have always used omens to figure out the world around them. When would the rains come? When would winter's ice and snow cover the land? Where were the animals necessary for food? It was only through generations of observation and perception that people came to know the world around them and the signs that helped them to decipher it. . . .
We learn to pick up signs when we are very young. When we are babies, our mothers communicate to us with a host of signs. There is the smell of tension or love or fear. There is the quality of touch. There is the taste of mother, of home and the milk of life. The Earth Mother gives us signs all the time. Nowhere was this more evident than among the people of the New World. For the Native Americans the Earth Mother and nature have been the guiding forces in all divination. From the dawn of the rich oral tradition to the present, Native American people have looked to nature for signs, omens, and guidance. This has always been a way of life rather than a philosophy or religion. It has been born out of the experience of the natural world.
From Chapter 9
What has made kids and diviners so special is that they have been able to see the world as if they had never seen it before. They can see all kinds of things because they let themselves. All of us can do that.
For kids and diviners there is nothing strange about seeing the world in a plate of spaghetti or hearing birds talk. Diviners are artists that see the world as their palette. Just about everything can be read. And just about everything has been read from elephant dung to white horses; from ripples in the leaves to clouds; from sneezes to blinks. The entire world is our mirror.