For the empaths in this list: shielding techniques

[Guest guest]

Some of the protection strategies described in this article are pretty

intriguing. Of course I keep forgetting to implement them, but would

be curious to know if they work for y'all...

 

Cheers,

 

Sel

 

 

Common and Not-So-Common Shields

 

The best offence is a good defense. We've all heard this cliché

associated with things like sports or martial arts, but it applies to

the world of psionics as well. The most fundamental way of protecting

oneself against the outside world is a shield. Just like psi balls,

they can be programmed to do an unlimited number of tasks, ranging

from simply stopping negative energy from entering your body, to

interpreting different types energy and responding to each on an

individual basis. The average psion doesn't have a dictionary of

hundreds of shields in their head for different situations - we each

have a small database of regularly practiced shields that can be

" tweaked " slightly to fit a given scenario. I, myself, use roughly

three different types of shields on a given day, but also have a few

advanced shields in mind " just in case " .

The most common shield I use is referred to as the Bubble Shield.

 

Bubble Shield

Bubble Shields are easy to make and can hold up against everyday

annoyances. I primarily use them for blocking " normal " humans'

empathetic projections. Regulating how solid the shield is dictates

how much empathetic information I receive from my environment. I've

personally had trouble using them for blocking telepathic information,

but keep in mind, my telepathic experiences are very limited. Bubble

Shields are also useful against humans who subconsciously leach energy

from others. Basically, in those situations, your shield has to only

be more powerful than the person's next to you. The " leach " will

generally go for the easy target and not even bother with you.

I use two techniques to create Bubble Shields (though sometimes I do

outlandish things just to spice it up little ).

 

The first is a simple visualization of a shell building from the

ground to up, around your body, and finally meeting up over your head.

Eggshells and plastic bubbles are typical visualizations.

 

The second generates the shield from inside the abs, and expands it

until it's around the entire body. This is useful for pushing energy

off of you, while the first might trap it inside the shield.

 

Unfortunately, you can't just learn the Bubble Shield and be set for

life. If you engage in any psychic combat, you'll find that your

Bubble Shield doesn't amount to crap. A focused attack can go right

through or shatter it, depending on the attackers skill and objective.

Reconstructing and maintaining it during a fight isn't worth the

effort. As mentioned above, the Bubble Shield is very basic. It's

great for everyday problems, but for more serious events, it's wiser

to make a better type of shield, than trying to hold together a small

Bubble Shield.

One shield I'd like to discuss has a specific purpose. I invented it a

year or so ago when I nearly got hit by lightning a couple times in a

row, and still use it every time there's a storm outside. It has no

formal name as far as I know, but I call it the Diffuse Shield.

 

Diffuse Shield

As implied above, I use this shield for fending off lightning. It

started when I was first dabbling in energy manipulation. The first

time, I was home alone at night, and it was storming pretty heavy out.

I was playing around with psi balls and throwing them around, when I

bolt of lighting hit within 30 yards of my house. I didn't see it

directly, but everything lit up (and I mean EVERYTHING - I was blinded

for about twenty seconds), and my entire house rattled and vibrated. I

was scared shitless, of course, so I stopped practicing psi balls

until the storm was over. Thinking it could have been a fluke, I

didn't worry about it after that.

After a couple of similar experiences, I didn't take any action until

the last time (I think almost a year ago exactly). I was outside, and

it wasn't storming at all. There were clouds above, but no rain and no

lightning. I suddenly heard a " click click click " sound and looked up.

For some reason I dove into the garage (I don't remember seeing

anything), and the lightning nearly hit me again. As before,

everything shook and our house was rattling like crazy. Being nearly

hit while it wasn't even raining made me think it wasn't just a

" coincidence " . I didn't know exactly how the lightning was targeting

me, but I figured that I must be giving off a different charge (of

some sort) than my surrounding environment. To solve this, I kept my

internal charge the same (whatever it was), but made a shield to

" diffuse " my charge into my environments charge. Any energy I emitted

would be the same as my environment, but my energy would still be the

same. I assume it's worked because I've yet to have another experience

like that, but I do have to create the shield every time it starts to

look like it's going to rain. Of course, I'd rather do that than get

struck by lightning, so I don't complain .

 

The technique is simple and the shield can be created in about the

same amount of time as a Bubble Shield. First I create a thick Bubble

Shield (not necessarily strong, just thick). Then I push some parts

out to form a spike, and some parts in to form a spike. When I'm

finished, it's similar to a furry ball - the spikes becoming so thin

they're like fibers. It's made very " loose " and the fibers flow around

freely. (I apologize for the cheesy animation , it's much easier to

visualize than it is to draw).

I've yet to find another use for this shield other than the one

stated. It'll fall apart in an hour or so (depending how you program

it), and I can't think of any way it would be useful in a combat

situation. Nonetheless, it's served it's purpose: I've yet to be

struck . If you find yourself in a situation similar to mine, give

this shield a try.

While the Diffuse Shield is made for a very specific purpose, the next

shield I'm going to discuss can be used for a variety of applications.

It's commonly referred to as the Mirror Shield because of its ability

to bounce incoming energy in the opposite direction.

 

Mirror Shield

To be completely honest, I have little experience with this type of

shield. I've used it on occasion while " sparring " with people, but I

usually like creating something more complex (mainly because the

Mirror Shield is kinda boring, in my opinion ). Despite my lack of

interest, it is a popular and useful shield.

 

The technique is predictable given the name of the shield, but I'll go

over it to be complete. Create it as you would any other shield, but

program it to reflect incoming attacks. This can be accomplished by a

nice " mirror " visualization or a slick silver color. There are some

pitfalls to this shield that can trick-up a newbie. The first is to

make sure you create it so you can send energy out through the shield.

It's no good if you go to attack and your attack bounces off the

inside and nails yourself. Another is to make sure you make it's on

the outside of all your other shields. The reason for this is that if

you create it inside a Bubble Shield, for example, and the attacker

breaks through part of the Bubble Shield, the energy will bounce off,

and hit the Bubble Shield again on the way out. Two hits with one stone.

Though I personally don't find this shield " fun " , it is very useful. A

skilled psion can easily fend off a series of attacks with this one

shield. The next shield is another simple concept, but a little harder

to construct, in my opinion. I call it the Marshmallow Shield, though

I'm not sure if that's the formal name .

 

Marshmallow Shield

The Marshmallow Shield is a thick, gooey, and sticky type of shield.

Its primary purpose is to absorb attacks and hold them there for

later. It can be programmed to de-patternize the simple attack or just

spit it back out. It's hard to break because of its nature, but at

best it can slow down a skilled attack.

 

One downfall (for me) is that it takes some time to construct

properly. The visualization is simple, but it just requires a lot of

energy. Basically, you want to picture a thick (probably at least one

foot) wall of goo. Use semi-melted marshmallows for visualization. If

you construct it in layers (which I do sometimes, to make it easier),

you'll want to make sure the layers melt into each other completely -

they can be a pain and separate on their own sometimes. You might want

to put some Bubble Shields on the outside and inside of it if you're

making it really gooey. It should hold it's own shape for some time,

but it might require some maintenance depending on how you make it.

As I stated above - it can take a while to make, even if you are

somewhat skilled. It's not particularly good at handling sharp

objects, but it's not meant to be used as the only line of defense.

Combine it with other defensive shields to provide better protection.

After it's made it can be repaired somewhat easily, so you can keep it

up for long periods of time.

One shield that can be combined well with the Marshmallow Shield is

the Force-Bubble Shield. It takes longer to construct, but provides

some of the best protection.

 

Force-Bubble Shield

 

In my opinion, the Force-Bubble Shield is one of the coolest out there

. Just recently I've been experimenting with Force-Bubble Constructs,

and the shield version is very useful and holds up against a lot of

force. I can be used in combat or in any situation where you need to

physically put force on an object. The downside is that it is pretty

advanced and takes a lot of time to make (in most cases). Skill in

telekinesis is useful.

 

The visualization is fairly simple but tedious. The one I use is to

visualize a bunch of " psi-bricks " stacking up and forming a brick wall

around myself. You'll also need some " psi-mortar " as well to stick it

all together . Also, to incorporate the idea of force, I visualize a

bunch of arrows pointing outwards on the bricks. In physics, force is

usually shown by an arrow, so it works well for me (having a somewhat

scientific mind). Think of something that means " force " to you and use

it. The key isn't necessarily the visualization, but the practice.

This shield takes a lot of skill to construct properly.

 

The Force-Bubble Shield is extremely useful and powerful. While the

previous combat shields address the issue of dealing with an attack,

the last shield's purpose is to help you not get in situations where

you'll get attacked. It's known as the Cloaking Shield, or in some

cases, the " Hedge " Shield.

 

Cloaking Shield

I find this shield the most fun to play with. With it, you can walk up

to someone while their looking right at you and scare the crap out of

them (yes, that is fun! ). Previous experience with telepathic

suggestion will help you with this shield's properties.

 

To create it, you'll want to form a mental image of what you want to

project onto others. You can project yourself as " invisible " or

something static (for example, a hedge, box, etc...). Whatever you

choose, you should have a clear understanding of what the objects

energy is like. You'll want to create a shield that emits this same

type of energy. The goal isn't to physically make yourself look like a

hedge, but rather to get the attacker to glance over you. Broadcast

something like " Nothing to see here, just a hedge " .

 

Another form of this shield would be to emit a " normal " human's energy

field. When the attacker sees you, they'll either underestimate your

ability, or ignore you completely. Obviously, visualizations of

whatever you want to become work well for forming this shield.

Remember though, you're not just creating a shield, your clouding the

mind of your opponent. This is where telepathy is useful. Incorporate

telepathic suggestion and broadcasting into the shield. Visualize your

opponent becoming

confused.

 

This isn't an easy shield to make, but it is useful. It doesn't take

that long to make, just skill. With anything, practice makes perfect,

and this shield is fun to practice .

 

Conclusion

Shields are essential to psions - from newbie to advanced. One last

note: keep in mind that the two shields are better than one. Combine

shields and layer them wisely to significantly increase your

protection. Any shield can be cracked, but having backups for the

backups ensures you'll have time to react to an attack.

 

Concerning Blocks and Internal Shielding

 

It is possible to erect Shields inside one's mind, in addition to the

more usual defenses around it. This is a somewhat specialized

technique, and probably only of limited use. Quite possibly the most

obvious application is to keep one's most private memories private

when mind-linking; while the most common is the subconscious

repression of traumatic memories, as an internal defense

mechanism...but the latter wanders into the field of psychiatry, and

is well beyond the scope of an article of this kind.

A nice basic internal Shield is a slightly elastic Mirror

configuration, with a smooth, glossy surface that bounces would-be

intrusions harmlessly off its exterior. Such a Shield would dent

inward a little if pressed, but immediately resume its normal form

once the intruding thought-form was sent on its way.

 

Such internal Shields are constructed in the same manner as a regular

Shield, and, in theory, any Shield you can construct normally you can

make internally, too. In practice, however, the variety of internal

Shields is more limited. This is the inside of your mind we're talking

about here. In fact, some kinds would be physically inside your skull.

You'll feel it any time the Shields touch anything (with a couple of

odd exceptions), so you'll want something that's comfortable, right?

Heavy-duty, strike-back-on-contact combat Shields could cause problems.

It may be wise to set a time limit when constructing an interior

Shield, rather than simply wait until you want to drop it, to deal

with dispelling it. Or, better yet, set it so that it will remain for

a certain amount of time or until you choose to dispel it, whichever

comes first. Otherwise, it is too easy to mess up the setting and have

your own thoughts bouncing off it, thus unable to drop the thing, and

that would not be good. (Can you tell that I speak from experience

here? No need for you to repeat my error....)

 

A similar sort of block can be produced hypnotically, either in one's

self or in another person. I tried a self-induced one out of

curiosity, and it formed the sort of default-pattern Shield I

mentioned earlier.

Dr. G.H. Estabrooks, in his " Hypnosis Comes of Age " *, mentions the use

of a similar-sounding block in 'training' a kind of mind-controlled

spy-courier in World War I. He took it a step further, and locked the

blocking in place to prevent interference with, or even knowledge of,

the block by anyone other than the courier's two

handlers....specifically including the courier himself. Whether the

block/shield produced no sensation in itself, or whether the courier

had been hypnotically commanded not to feel it was not indicated in

the article. The courier had been programmed to forget that he'd ever

been hypnotized, and he had no idea that he was working as a spy, so

it could have gone either way.

In fact, I am only guessing at the similarity in structure between the

blocking Dr. Estabrooks' methods produced, and those under discussion

here, based on my own experience (self-induced and otherwise) and

descriptions of similar phenomena by other people who have experienced

them. In the case of such descriptions of blocked memories, obviously

the block eventually failed.**

 

It happens sometimes that blocking, of whatever nature, cracks or

shatters after a period of months or years. If you have cause to

construct such a block in your own mind ~ or someone else's, for that

matter ~ you may want to bear that in mind