By the end of class, Denise Livingston of Carterville knew exactly what kind of house her instructor lived in simply by touching his pen.

Livingston and about seven others met with "Coyote" Chris Sutton of Godrey last week at New Ages Other Worlds bookstore to enhance their psychic abilities.

When Sutton answered "Yes" to every one of her questions pertaining to the physical details of his home, an impressed smile washed over his face. "You got all that just from holding the pen?" Sutton asked. "Good."

Livingston said she has always had psychic abilities but wants to strengthen them to provide insight into her son's unsolved murder.

"When a family member is going to die, I know ahead of time," Livingston said. "But I didn't know about Ryan."

Nearly everyone in the group has a different reason for wanting to learn more about their sixth senses.

Cheryl Connolly of Codben is a massage therapist who wants to deepen the connection with her customers. Grieg Pedersen of Carbondale wants to refine his skill in Reiki and lessen the effects of mild autism.

"I won't be able to describe you an hour after I leave," Pedersen said.

The one thing they all have in common is that they want Sutton's help. Sutton was trained in Si-Si Wis medicine tradition of the northwest and specializes in tarot and numerology. He's also a practicing shaman. But Sutton said he didn't just become psychic.

"Even when I was young, I had psychic impressions of people," he said.

But he said that psychic abilities don't always just appear or are limited to a select few, but that people are "all made of energy" and all have the potential to become a psychic.

Examples he gives include when someone gets a song stuck in their head or recalls a movie for no apparent reason, and the song later plays on the radio or the movie appears on TV. Another example is when a person walks into the room feeling incredibly angry or joyful and you can feel his or her mood.

But his favorite example of proof that psychic abilities lie in everyone is Michael Jordan.

"Anyone who could pass behind his back and hit someone right in the chest has to know something," Sutton said.

Though Sutton always had psychic experiences, his most poignant came when his wife took him to the Pow Wow nationals about eight years ago, and during a gourd dance using a warriors drum beat he said he experienced a separate reality.

But refining these abilities isn't always easy. He said children are more open to psychic abilities because they have less social stigmas holding them back.

"As you get older, you lose some of that and behave in a way that's acceptable," Livingston agreed.

To help his students gain insight to their abilities, Sutton began the class with meditation and cleansing exercises. This included lighting sage, letting the smoke billow around Connolly and then flicking it away with a feather. Other exercises consisted of meditations meant to take the focus off the brain and put it on the heart.

"The brain is a wonderful tool, but it's a lousy master," Sutton said.

The group would often stand up and close their eyes in meditation.

One such exercise found Sutton instructing them to imagine themselves at a stream or waterfall and imagine water pouring over them.

"I can feel the energy flowing through the circle," Sutton said.

The group put their abilities to the test afterward with more hands-on exercises. The class stepped into a dully lit pink room and looked at fellow classmates in an attempt to see auras. Most claimed to be able to see white or purple light radiating from others.

Other activities included trying to "read" people from their photographs.

Sutton passed two pictures of Native American men, one young and wearing a smile and the other elderly and frowning.

Most people felt that the smile of the younger man was forced but also said he had a good sense of humor. Sutton revealed that the man, Johnny Moses, was a shaman who had been diagnosed with cancer as a child and was cured by his grandmother and that he was holding back a lot of pain.

The older man, who many felt was very wise, was, according to Sutton, one of the greatest medicine men in recorded history.

The group also attempted to read history of rocks by holding them in their hands. The readings ranged from feeling the rock's environment to emotions. Nancy Pedersen, also of Carbondale, said she felt Wounded Knee in her rock. Sutton revealed that her rock was not from that area, but one rock in the bag was, and its energy could have permeated onto the other rocks.

After the class was over, the students were eager to put the lessons they learned to use.

Bloodworth, a member of Paranormal Scene Investigation, said she may implement some of Sutton's teaching into her work.

"I didn't know you could (read items)," Bloodworth said. "We'll give it a try."

Sutton said he felt similar eagerness when using his abilities because his literary and film heroes were always characters like Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings" and the Jedi from "Star Wars."

"You may not be able to beat the Balrog like Gandalf, but you can do some really neat stuff," Sutton said.

codell.rodriguez@thesouthern.com

(618) 529-5454 ext. 5171

UPCOMING CLASSES

For more information on future Chris Sutton classes, visit his Web site at www.geocites.com/chrissutton1957|www.geocites.com/chrissutton1957.

For information on similar classes at New Ages Other Worlds, 1337 Walnut St., Murphysboro, call (618) 687-5135.

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