The answer to this question has never been thoroughly researched, so nobody knows for sure if psychic ability is hereditary, or not.
What we know of this phenomenon is mostly based on anecdotal evidence (i.e. people's personal experiences). Many psychics report having psychic family members, especially parents and grandparents. You often also find psychic ability to be shared by identical twins, like Terry and Linda Jamison, and Chinhee and Sunhee Park. But there are also people who believe that we are all born psychic and that psychic ability is a skill that can be developed by anyone.
Many psychic phenomena are experienced while a person is sleeping, or in an altered state of consciousness, such as a trance, under hypnosis or in the dream state. This may be an indication that each of us, in our subconscious, has the basic ability to experience extra sensory perception (ESP). Many of us also have spontaneous psychic experiences as children, but we are often conditioned not to pay attention to these experiences. Sometimes children are even punished or reprimanded for allowing their "imagination to run wild".
Nearly everyone has at one time or another experienced some form of extra sensory perception (ESP). People may hear a voice whisper their name, or see a glimpse of a human shape out of the corner of their eye, or sense who is calling when the phone rings, or meet someone and immediately know they will marry that person, etc. Many widows report having a close encounter with their deceased husband shortly after his death. According to Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell surveys across several nations suggest that around a fifth of the general population report having clairvoyant experiences.
But the fact that some people know from their childhood that they are born psychic, and know of other family members and ancestors who also had psychic abilities, implies that there is very likely also a genetic link. In my personal experience there is definitely a hereditary component to being psychic, because I inherited by psychic abilities from my paternal grandmother. I believe that some people are born exceptionally gifted and don't know it, or they supress it when they discover it.
While many psychics become aware of their abilities in their childhood, some people develop their psychic ability later in life due to significant life events. People who have had a near-death-experience (NDE) often report an increase in their psychic ability after the event. For others their psychic abilities surface during or after times of severe physical or emotional trauma, such as intense stress, serious illness, major accidents, or exposure to extreme physical danger. There are also known cases of psychics whose paranormal abilities surfaced or intensified due to brain injury. For example, the famous psychic medium Edgar Cayce, also known as 'The Sleeping Prophet,' fell off a fence post on his parents farm around age three, and he hit his head on a piece of wood with a nail protruding from it. It punctured his skull and caused injury to his brain, but there were no serious consequences.
I believe psychic ability is a combination of both natureand nurture, as is the case with any other talents or genetic predispositions we may be born with. What this means is that psychics are born with a latent hereditary or genetic capacity for being psychic, but their ability is further developed by their upbringing, their childhood environment, education and life experiences. In my case, however there was very little 'nurture,' because I grew up in a very conservative society and my psychic abilities were never encouraged by my parents or my community. In fact, I got into serious trouble for it in school when I was in my early teens. I eventually believed that my psychic ability was something to be ashamed of and I suppressed it for many years throughout my youth and early adult years. I did however have a near-death experience in my late 20's. I also experienced several other major life events that may have contributed to the emergence of my psychic ability, but none of these experiences caused or created my psychic ability. I was aware of my psychic ability from a very young age. I have also never attended any psychic development courses or mediumship circles.
It is my view we are all born with varying degrees of intuitive ability, the same way we are all born with an aptitude for playing music, creating art or participating in sports. We can all learn to develop our innate intuitive abilities, it does not necessarily mean we will all excel at it. Most of us can learn to play the piano, or draw pictures or play basketball and soccer. Some of us will even learn to do these things extremely well, but not all of us have the talent that can be nurtured for us to become the next Ludwig van Beethoven, Pablo Picasso, Michael Jordan or David Beckham.
