According to Quantum Possibilities, “Clairgustance is the ability to taste substances without putting them in your the mouth.” The premise is that some people possess special insight to perceive the essence of something from the ethereal realm through instinctive taste, minimizing the need to use memory to catalogue them within the interior mind.

Part of the problem is that this particular claim contains obvious flaws which distracts from its credibility. How can one identify flavor without having first placed something on the tongue allowing texture, form and smell to be recalled at a later time? It is inconceivable to be able to do this unless some base of reference, dependent on memory is created to guide the interpretation of qualities unique to a substance.

In general, clairvoyance is closely associated with paranormal studies historically found in most cultures. Clairvoyants are often defined as religious or shamanistic individuals who meditate and are able to  exert high levels of personal discipline. They can also exist as the focus of cults who proclaim them as having “clear experiences,” strongly suggesting that their pronouncements are reliable and above suspicion. These people attract large numbers of individuals uncertain about the future, seeking those who they think can access energies that can help them avoid pain and suffering by creating  better choices or convincing illusions foretold from such a vision.

According to some historical documents, the earliest record of clairvoyance was made by Marquis de Puységur, who in 1784 was treating a peasant man, Victor Race, identified with feeble intelligence. It was reported that when in treatment, Race would enter a trance state and undergo personality changes that made him noticeably articulate. He proceeded to diagnosis his own disease and prescribe a course of treatment, as well as many illnesses of strangers. When the trance ended, he returned to his limited mental capacity totally unaware of anything he had said.

Although Puységur used the term clairvoyance, there is no evidence to support a belief in the paranormal since he was a follower of Franz Mesmer, the founder of the Mesmerism school of thought which included certain spiritual phenomena and magnétisme animal as its basis. The evolution of Mesmer’s ideas and practices led Scottish surgeon James Braid to develop hypnosis, a respected tool of psychiatry, in 1842.

There are a number qualities identified as part of the clairvoyant experience. They are usually refinements of the known senses of hearing, seeing, touching, taste and smell, extending into some realm that can only be individually perceived. They can suggest images from the past, visions of the future or be connected to objects such an heirloom.

Most skeptics argue that clairvoyance is the result of self delusion and a failure to consider chance occurrence, “If you test a clairvoyant in a scientific experiment, they will inevitably get a number of answers correct during a series of trials, much like the 20% chance of picking the correct possibility in a multiple choice test with five unknown choices.” This does not mean that there are any special abilities at work other than guessing. Non believers are quick to suggest that the clairvoyant experience should be amenable to established scientific scrutiny in order to be considered valid.

Try and explain that to someone who has had such an event that changed the course of their life and opened them to things they never knew they had. For them, there is no need to justify their ability since they implicitly understand the solitary and unique nature of the introspective experience.

Although a freeloader is usually referred to as “a good for nothing bum” who extends flimsy excuses for being a non contributing member of society, dependency usually marks their lives, often judged worthless by those on whom they rely. Try and observe them without judgment, a difficult task to accomplish, and they usually reveal anxiety and a lack of self confidence when it comes to independent action or dealing with consequences.

Often, from some one else’s perspective, they can appear manipulating in their helplessness, controlling the situation by pushing all the right buttons to evoke a co-dependent response, as anger becomes a cause for avoiding the original issue, lost when uncontrollable emotions kick in. Usually, an abdication of responsibility is present when circumstances require individual action and taking risks as part of the process of growth and development. Unfortunately, this often characterizes the relationship by provoking some sort of guilt along with the anger over being unfairly burdened, overshadowing the possibility of a normal relationship assuming one could be adequately defined.

Discovering the ability to objectify the situation on an emotional level may help prevent the knee jerk responses when buttons are pushed, but unless the anger is transformed, nothing changes. The hope, fleeting at first,  is that something external will intervene and  change the circumstances so that confrontation becomes a mute issue. This approach is a passive way of viewing the dynamics necessary to alter the cycle, and rarely works. The other means of arriving at a solution most often appears when everything else seems to fail, the bottom of the barrel reached and behavior becomes so contrary to what is usual that the blind spots, now glaring, cannot be ignored. Confrontation is then inevitable.

Blaming the lazy slough by comparing him or her negatively to those who are accomplished neglects the response many successful people  give when asked about their own attainments, “I’m not really as successful as everyone thinks, Ive just fooled them into thinking I am.”  This rationale suggests that no matter which side of the line you fall – the overly depended upon, or the good for nothing bum, fear of the inner truth exists.

In a region of Greece known as the Peloponnese exists the land of Arcadia where scholars believe the myth of the god Pan – who according to legend is the god of fertility, carnal desires and unbridled male sexuality,- originated. Usually, he is depicted most for running after nymphs deep in the forest green or on high mountainous regions with the lower torso of a goat and a flute in his hand playing a hypnotic tune that speaks to the instinctual nature rather than the harmonized sensibility of the heart and mind merged with  the influence of balanced primal forces. On his head are two horns, implying that sexual energy is more closely associated with devils heat and a part of pagan ritualism, an undercurrent that is also suggested in theological doctrine.

Its often forgotten that Pan is the god of shepherds and their flock. but the origin of such connection, as in most myths, remains unknown. Another example is Poseidon, god of the ocean and the seas who also rules horses. Trying to figure out the equine association between both symbols is like gazing through murky water hoping to see river’s bed.

In the Tarot, the fifteenth card of the higher arcana is represented by the imagery of a naked man and woman, both with horns on their head chained to an alter where the Devil sits. Both are slaves to their lower passions. This is another instance of how symbols incorporate the basic principles that govern human nature. The cards, especially the higher arcana are thought to correspond to cosmic principles. On the other hand, Eastern philosophy conveys the idea that in order to be successful, one must walk the line between the Yin and Yang without getting caught in the pull of either extreme, proposing that the path is more appropriately represented by an arc rather than a straight line.

The problem with archetypes and symbols is that they can represent so many things they are never specific enough to apply directly to one’s life or provide answers for conditions that include constantly changing variables, indicating another reason for the popularity of prognosticators trying to fathom the future that is often impacted by uncertain events.

One path to enlightenment is recognizing that contemplating infinite outcomes is the only way to anticipate the effects of the present on future events. Calculated endeavors, even with the best of intentions, are usually surrounded by varying degrees of uncertainty and exists as aspirations that can appear vague and formulaic even if the motive is clear.

Any series or set of circumstances, also a mathematical construct, relates immeasurable amounts of events that can transpire or be erroneously interpreted as boundaries that can cloud perception. However, if reasonable goals are set and sufficient time is allowed for them to be realized, then they can serve as positive milestones.

Although this sounds a bit simplistic, most philosophies and religions say the same thing in symbolic form, open to interpretation while being scientifically nebulous at the same time. “Patterns that were previously unnoticed can now be revealed as their existence which has  always been part of the surrounding reality is reaffirmed,” so the claim goes.

The other important foundation of any evolutionary movement is the emotional balance necessary to avoid distractions especially by things that complicates judgement and obscures the path towards a transformed state. Ultimately, how it is all interpreted depends on one’s location within the transcendental experience.

An analogy is comparing life to a multiple choice test. Whoever formulates the questions are not interested in testing you on the things you are expected to know. Its usually the exceptions which become the focus of  inquiry, and perhaps also by illustrating  how easily the student is distracted by irrelevant facts.

Aside from water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage with a history steeped in rituals about the simple task of boiling water and dropping leaves into the pot.

According to myth, the emperor Shen Nung of China, who scholars say was well versed in science and the arts, ordered all of his subjects to boil water before drinking. Some historians believe this was based on a knowledge of medicine and the life cycle of germs. Others speculate that, “while the emperor was resting one day after traveling with an elaborate entourage, leaves from a nearby bush fell into the cauldron of boiling water being prepared for him. The monarch, noticing the flavourful aroma and dark color, ordered his food tasters to sample the drink. When the emperor finally sipped it himself, convinced that the tasters were not poisoned, he said ‘this is good.’”

It wasn’t until the Ch’a Ching was written in 800 A. D. by the renowned Lu Yu, an orphan raised by scholarly Buddhist monks in one of China’s finest monasteries. His training as an observer reflected a Zen Buddhist upbringing and led to the first comprehensive book written about tea and its evolution in culture. He recorded the various methods of it’s cultivation and preparation in ancient China that was eventually exported to imperial Japan by Zen missionaries, projecting Lu to near sainthood within his own lifetime.

Although this discovery was a step towards the development of herbal knowledge and the infancy of pharmaceuticals, Lu Yu still considered his life a failure and without meaning. Perhaps it was the realization that in all its glory, tea is nothing more then water with variable solvents open to interpretation when the liquid is poured from the cup and the clumps of leaves left behind reveal clues about the life cycle of whoever was drinking from the cup. This may have also been the origin of reading tea leaves, a form of divination.