Quick Specs
- Brand: Weiser Books
- Type: Instructional paperback book
- Size: 8.8″ x 5.8″ x 0.7″
- Size/Quantity: One paperback book
- Best for: Beginners developing psychic awareness, aura reading students, intuition work
What Basic Psychic Development Covers
Basic Psychic Development by Gloria Hemsher and John Friedlander is a structured, exercise-based guide to developing psychic sensitivity, published by Weiser Books. Friedlander is a longtime teacher in the Lewis Bostwick tradition of psychic development, which emerged from the Berkeley Psychic Institute in the 1970s. The book takes a systematic approach, moving students through foundational skills in grounding, running earth and cosmic energy, and reading the aura before building toward more advanced practices like clairvoyance and reading pictures in the mental image space.
What distinguishes this book from general New Age introductions to intuition is its emphasis on energetic hygiene and tool-based psychic development. The Lewis Bostwick approach treats psychic ability as a learnable skill that is best developed through consistent practice in a structured sequence, rather than waiting for spontaneous opening or relying on natural gift alone. This makes the book particularly valuable for people who have noticed intuitive experiences but do not know how to develop them deliberately.
Who This Book Is Right For
This book works best for readers who want a practical, step-by-step curriculum rather than a philosophical overview of psychic phenomena. Each chapter introduces concepts and then provides specific exercises: grounding cords, roses for reading, blowing up pictures, and running energy through the chakra system. These exercises require no equipment and can be practiced alone or with a partner. The language is accessible without being dismissive of complexity, and the authors’ teaching experience shows in the careful sequencing of material.
It is not a book for readers seeking mediumship training specifically or for those whose primary interest is divination tools like tarot. Its focus is on developing direct clairvoyant and aura-reading skills through the Berkeley Psychic Institute method. Readers already working with a teacher in this lineage will find it an excellent companion text. Explore more development resources in my books and journals collection.
How to Use Basic Psychic Development
How to get the most from Basic Psychic Development as a structured practice curriculum.
- Start with grounding and energy tools
Read the first three chapters before any later exercises. The book’s grounding and energy-running techniques are prerequisite skills for the clairvoyance and aura-reading exercises that follow. Skipping ahead reduces the benefit significantly.
- Practice each exercise daily
Set aside ten to twenty minutes daily to work through each chapter’s exercises. The Berkeley method emphasizes consistency over intensity. Brief daily practice builds the energetic awareness and mental imagery skill the book is designed to develop.
- Work with a partner when possible
Several exercises in the book are designed for partner practice, where one person reads the other’s aura or energy field. Reading a partner gives immediate feedback and accelerates development faster than solo practice alone can achieve.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this book because the Friedlander and Hemsher method is one of the most systematic approaches to psychic development available in print, and that rigor is hard to find at this level. It gives students a genuine toolkit, not just inspiration. For tarot and divination reading guides that complement this development work, browse my tarot and divination collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
The book teaches the Lewis Bostwick method from the Berkeley Psychic Institute in California. This tradition treats psychic development as a learnable skill built through structured exercises in grounding, running energy, and clairvoyant reading.
Yes. The book is designed for students with no prior training. It begins with foundational grounding and energy exercises and builds toward aura reading and clairvoyance, making it one of the more accessible structured courses currently in print.
The book covers grounding, running earth and cosmic energy, reading auras, developing clairvoyance through rose imagery, and working with pictures in the mental image space, all within the Berkeley Psychic Institute framework and teaching method.
No teacher is required. The exercises are written for solo or partner self-study. Readers with access to a teacher in the Bostwick lineage will progress faster, but the book functions well as standalone curriculum or as a supplementary class text.
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