Seasons of Change is a biweekly column from Jayne Clark addressing different topics each season. Summer's focus is spirituality and intuition. Jayne Clark works intuitively with clients to help them resolve issues regarding relationships, loss, grief, health, and career path. To learn more, head to jayneclark.com.

My dad had some pretty mad skills when it came to mental telepathy. When I was nine years old, he would always tell me before leaving for a business trip, "remember, you can speak to me in your thoughts and I will hear you." Growing up with a dad that was very open to intuition, mental telepathy, e.s.p, and spiritual phenomena was the most valuable gift he ever gave me.

We used to sit together at the dining room table. While eating breakfast, we would send each other telepathic messages. He would usually go first and then I would follow. It was a much different exercise compared to the one where we would "know" who was calling on the phone before answering it.

What is the difference between mental telepathy and intuition?

Intuition is the receiving of information from a place within you that is uninterrupted by logical, rational thinking. Mental telepathy is the transference of information, usually done through thought, from one person to another.

Both intuition and mental telepathy are abilities that can be developed with patience and practice. They are no different than someone having exquisite talent and ability for music, athletics, writing, singing, teaching, or being a CEO of a major corporation. The "gift" is the result of using intuition or telepathic skills for the good of individuals and others.

Everyone is telepathic and has telepathic experiences, however, most people call them coincidences. A perfect example is when you are thinking of someone whom you have not talked to in quite a while. A day or two later, they either call or you run into them at a public place.

Most people will respond with something like, "How weird!!! I was just thinking of you!" Truth is, it's not weird at all. It is quite normal and natural to be telepathic and have those experiences on a consistent basis.

Animals are extremely telepathic. I have two dogs. Both of them know the basic commands of sit, stay, and lay down. When one of them comes up to me, I telepathically send them the command "sit." When I first started working with this, it took about four or five times before they "heard" me. Now, we have it down to about two or three at the most.

Telepathy in Relationships

Can we influence others with our thoughts? The answer is yes, to a point. I'm not convinced we have the power to telepathically tell someone to jump off of a bridge or steal something from a grocery store and they will do it. Think of it in terms of voice communication: just because you tell someone to do something with your verbal words doesn't mean they will follow through.

However, communicating either verbally or telepathically using the energy of love can yield amazing results.

Think about someone whom you have had an argument with. You would like to resolve the issue but the other person isn't willing. In a case like that, you can close your eyes and see the person in your mind's eye. See the person in detail: what he/she is wearing, how his/her hair is styled, the color of his/her eyes.

Now, within your mind, speak to them your loving words of care and concern. Ask for forgiveness. Let them know you genuinely forgive them. Let them know how much you would like to resolve the issue and how much they mean to you.

This exercise can really help you change your energy and feel better towards them and the situation. With your energy transformed from negative to positive, you will be telepathically sending the other person an invitation to join you in verbal communication—and they will receive that message.

When we surrender our telepathic abilities to love, wonderful things can happen. We grow spiritually. We become more centered. We trust our inner knowingness in a much more expanded way. Our motives in relationship remain pure and honest.

It's when we use it for negative purposes that we can find ourselves in trouble. We start going down the road of control and manipulation. We strengthen our attachment to what we want and how things should be. It's a very dangerous energy and we will create our lives from that place.

Being telepathic with each other is one of the highest forms of communication we can engage in. It keeps us in the highest regard and integrity with each other. When you practice telepathy in your relationships, it really does motivate you to come from a place of love and honesty. You are able to feel how you make other people feel and vice versa.

Practice telepathy. Practice sending your thoughts and love to those who are important to you and see how it enhances the dynamics of your relationships. And practice sending those same loving thoughts to the people who challenge you—it will truly make a positive difference.

Image: Some rights reserved by Alex Barth