Updated 2022.04.27

Felt tightness or heaviness in tunnels and old buildings before? 

Have you suddenly perceived a change in a room after an argument? 

Noticed a chilly sensation come through a space you're in quite quickly? 

If you answered yes to any of the above, you're sensing energy. 

Now imagine you are at a party. You're having a perfect time. You're socializing, talking to friends, and drinking a fun, something someone made for you. 

Suddenly, you realize your drink has gone empty, and you need to head into the kitchen for a refill. When you re-enter the room you were in, the energy has seemed to shift.

Things don't seem as fun anymore, and everyone's a bit tender, denser, and quiet. You know something isn't right, but you don't know what.

Has something like this ever happened to you?

If so, congratulations.

You can sense emotion.

What just happened in this room is that there was likely an argument in your absence and tense, then rough emotions, glares, and words carrying specific tone were sent out into the room as energy.

When energy changes, it sends reverberations of a particular vibration through space, even in just the form of a sound wave. 

Like anyone who’s ever skipped a stone, played music, thought about physics or studied weather can tell you, energy bursts sent out into space, create an effect. 

This energy is what you felt. Even though the argument had ended, the energetic nature of the interaction is still radiating outward from the Source.

Sensing Spirit works similarly. 

All Spirit is energy, including any type. When they come and go from space, usually their entrances, exits, and projections can be felt by those calibrated to feeling fine energetic shifts in the environment around them. 

To sense Spirit, let's first talk about how energy-sensing works, in general.

Each of us exists in both energetic form and physical form. 

Some call this the spiritual body and physical body, the duality. 

The spiritual body is what senses the unseen, and the physical body senses what is tangible. Like the yin-yang of senses, we all have both. Which you've trained yourself to be most attuned to, is which you'll sense the easiest, at least when you first start. 

If you can sense emotions in a room, pressure changes going in and out of a cave, you can also probably sense those in Spirit. 

Those in Spirit, even without physical bodies, still have energy bodies - all of which carry a certain vibration and resonance. 

They can be identified by this signature vibration they each have. 

The ability to sense those in Spirit is called clairsentience, which means 'clear feeling,' and it's a lot more common a gift than people think. 

To some degree, every one of us has feelings. We can, therefore, sense the feelings, as energy coming from those around us. 

So technically, each one of us has some level of clairsentience. 

Clairsentience is usually the first of our intuitive abilities that opens up because we all use it in our day to day lives to assess our surroundings for safety and ultimately, ever since birth. 

Some people believe those who grew up in environments with more physical risk are naturally attuned to be more clairsentient than others once they reach adulthood. They've had so much time and the necessity to develop the ability to predict emotions that lead to behaviors. 

But even if you had a pretty lovely early life, most of us don't have to be told to know someone is mad at us - as long as you're perceptive, you know. You can sense it. 

This is clairsentience working. 

We sense Spirit with this same language of energy that exists for all emotions, and each person you meet. All those in Spirit are energy and operate in this same language of energy.

If you can sense human energy, you can sense Spirit energy. 

You usually just need someone to show you how. 

At the beginning of any connection to Spirit, we learn discernment through the use of energy-sensing. And discernment is as essential in this world as it is in the Otherworld. 

When you can tell who is communicating with you, then you can be more mindful at the level of which you engage and how readily you open to the wisdom, love, and energy offered. 

For sensing Spirit, I'd like to go over the most common Spirit groups below and how they generally feel. This way, you can have an idea next time you encounter one or as you recall upon your previous experiences. 

Once you know how each group feels, it tends to be easier to tune in and open when your support team shows up. 

So below, you'll find the most common ways the different groups of Spirits feel, to help you with more mindful engagement, and become more open to positive interactions with the Spirit World.

There are three main groups, extending down from Source. Our Ancestors, Spirit Guides and Angels, and the Deity or Earthen Realms.

We'll start with the group closest to us as humans -

What Do Spirits Feel Like? 

ancestors

These are Deceased Loved Ones, Friends, Grandmothers and Protectors. When a human Spirit is present, you may feel:

• Heat in the air or a warmth sensation

• The feeling that another presence is with you, you're being followed

• You may feel a heaviness or pressure around you or over your head and chest

• A sudden fastness or feeling of acceleration your world, as though you are falling on a roller coaster

Expanding on each, let's start with warmth:

warmth

I often describe the presence of a human Spirit as a thickness, warmth to a room, as if you entered a space with a dense crowd at a party. 

Spirit who is present has an energy that is not limited to their physical body; thus, they can expand it to get your attention, and this expansion creates friction, which creates the feeling of heat. 

Having a room getting hotter is typically a sign of a Spirit who can generate their own energy, so this typically means you have a crossed-over loved one with you, not an Earthbound Spirit, who tends to create cooler feelings.  

comfort

In addition to heat, the presence of the deceased you know often feels very comforting. Many people do not realize the presence of a Deceased Loved One for this reason - it just feels better - and we don't question it. We just let it ride. 

Suddenly feel a little more loving of yourself and cozy? This could be a loved one. 

We usually only pick-up on those things that feel scary to us, because it's human nature to alert to what could be a threat, and let the peaceful things go. But if you suddenly feel more peace in your heart, take note.

If you feel an added dense presence and it alerts you, it could be a deceased still, but perhaps someone who isn't crossed yet or it’s someone who’s essence you don’t know yet, like the entry of an unfamiliar deceased into the space, such as a neighborhood ghost.

denseness

Earthbound Deceased Spirits tend to create a heavy, dense feeling in a space because they are so closely tied to Earth. 

Earthbound Deceased Spirits are colloquially called ghosts and some are Protector Spirits fulfilling part of their soul purpose. 

If you walk into a room and suddenly feel like a heavy blanket has dropped on you, or a thick pressure on your chest, there is a good chance a ghost is with you. 

The more closely tied to the Earth a human Ghost or how recent the event, determines the level of denseness, or how powerful the energy in the space. 

speed

Many people, myself included, feel that Ghosts typically make you feel not only heavy but are also fast-energy inducing. Sometimes creating the perception that one has shortness of breath when nothing physical is happening to the human body at all. 

I describe it as a "being in a crowded elevator" type of feeling. For some people, it can make them feel dizzy or like the walls are closing in. 

If you enter a space and it needs to be cleared of residual energy or lots of Ghosts, it can feel this way. I like to use clearing fragrances now when I sense it to balance it.

I also find it helps to keep one clearing fragrance in my purse at all times for this circumstance, so I’m not overcome by it. Usually, Peppermint, because it doubles as a tool for enhancing digestion, but you don’t have to use Peppermint.

Some people like something that can double as a perfume or deodorant, like Palo Santo or Lemon.

Ascended Beings

These are Spirit Guides, Angels and Ascended Masters, often referred to as Beings of Light. 

They have a very high, elevated, lifting feeling when one is present.

You can do invincible things of courage when these guys are around. You can lead a class. You can return to a triggering event site. You can start a purpose cause. You can do things that go beyond human energy. 

Angels, Spirit Guides and Ascended Masters are slightly different in how they appear in the mind's eye and how they came to their roles, but they do have these sensations in common: 

Tingling Sensations

Often, the presence of a Guide will feel like a tingling sensation.

The feeling that magic is afoot is the best way I can describe when a bunch of Angels or high energy Guides are around and in a situation.

A charge to the air, is how others describe it. It can feel like a gentle massage or shimmer on your skin.

Protected And Safety Feelings

Have you ever had the feeling like things will be fine, even though in all other tangible appearances, they appear not to be? 

With the tingle, magic in the air feeling, when Guide, Master, or Angelic Energy is around, you may get a sense of a robust, generous feeling, a sense of protected safeness.

If you pull Oracle Cards, you may find yourself pulling stronger hero, action, protection cards when these Spirits are present. You may see a lot of blue or carry a new sense of assuredness and security. 

Angels, Master, and Guide energy makes itself visible to people usually when they are embarking on something that deepens their soul purpose. So generally, this feeling often comes with the tingles, for a reason. 

Earth Spirits

Earth Spirits like Deities, Gnomes, Fairies, Crystals, Animal Spirits and Daemons often visit and make their awareness known in a positive attitude or emotional behavior shift. They can create - 

A joyous feeling

Recently, have you been feeling giggly and like a jokester for no reason?

Have you found yourself going into nature and coming out with elevated joyous spirits?

This elevated, joyous, change in a more gentle and light-hearted attitude shift, is often the work of a fairy or elf. 

Have you surprised yourself with the depth of your wisdom lately? 

This is Gnome or Deity energy, which is rich with confidence, a feeling which also brings joy. Feeling joy, confidence, and lifted Spirits in your heart, is a sign that Earth Spirits may be helping you out.

This is especially true if you have been spending much time in nature, or calling on nature's support around the time you notice the shift.

For example, when some people are going through a challenging circumstance, they ask for the support of Mother Earth to help them get through it.

If you have done this, and start feeling joyous sensations more and more, it is a sign your support has arrived. It would be best if you had rising, positive energy to make rising positive changes in anything.

Increased intuitive awareness

Animal Spirits, often make their presence known with sudden awareness upgrades. 

You may begin to notice or begin to see subtle things you haven't before, or you may have heightened abilities of observation. 

Animal Spirits often show themselves to illuminate untapped skills of awareness, in many forms. They are also usually the first to come forward in Reiki attunements or meditation.

For connecting with Earth Spirits, including Animal Spirits, I like connecting one-on-one in meditation, as they are usually the first to come forward when you are attuning.

So to recap, for sensing spirits

• Ancestors can feel heavy, warmth, fast or pressure

• Ascended Beings, like Angels or Ascended Masters can feel like a tingle or protection

• Earth Spirits can make you feel more joyous, intuitive and wise

All Guides and Angels have a unique fingerprint, too. 

Depending on the Guide, Angel, Ancestor, or Earth Spirit that is visiting you, you'll also usually pick-up a unique 'fingerprint' of this Spirit.

Like the color, the ways they look in your mind's eye whenever they appear in meditation, or the symbols they use to identify themselves to you and others. 

Aside from the unique fingerprint of each Spirit, and the slight variations and cross-over in each, these are the primary ways different Spirit groups may feel. 

Pay attention to how they feel to you, as you may pick-up nuances when working with these groups yourself.

But now that you know the first three primary groups of Spirit, the next step in improving your Spirit sensory abilities is to go into further detail on the topic or attempt connecting with one of the groups, or individuals within these groups in meditation. 

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Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• 9 Signs Of Clairvoyant Abilities

• Your Psychic Senses: How Spirit Communicates With You

• The Gift Of Presence: How to Sense A Deceased Loved One When They Visit

• What Is Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Claircognizance And Clairsentience?