by FrozenFlames
Shelling is the skill of wrapping an extra energy layer around your energy (a psiball for example) and programming that extra energy layer to hold itself together and to also keep any energy that is inside of it, inside. In short, an energy "shell" does the same thing that a physical "shell" does: keeps stuff in. I do not know a single energy manipulator that cannot, and does not, shell. The entire point of creating a construct is to have it do something, and usually that "something" is being done without you focusing on the energy. Occasionally, the energy manipulator will send the energy away, perhaps towards a target.
For example, perhaps the energy manipulator also practices telepathy and empathy. In this case, he wanted to send the thought and feeling of "tiredness" to his sister that lives in California (meanwhile he lives in New York, across the country) because she is having insomnia problems. He can either send the thought for a few minutes until he gets tired of doing it, or he can program a construct to send the thought for him. The construct option, being the most economical decision, is what he would most likely choose to do. So he would make and program the construct. After it was made, he would simply let the construct go and then continue along his daily life. Meanwhile, the construct would go to his sister and send her the feeling of sleepiness all night. Now let us consider the possibility that he never took the time to shell the construct. As soon as he let the construct go, the energy would diffuse into the air, the construct would die, and his energy would have gone to waste. Without shelling, 90% of all energy manipulation wouldn't work.
Density Counts
Before I move onto the "How-To" of shelling, there is something that needs to be addressed: Density. If you're reading this article, chances are that you're a beginner that doesn't know anything about energy manipulation. But now, from the point of this article and on, you're going to have to start realizing some important "laws" of energy. The first and foremost being: Density. In all of energy manipulation, density is better and more preferable than size. This means that - in most situations - a psiball that is large, but not dense, is much worse than a psiball that is small, but very dense.
Don't ask my why this is and how it works, because I don't have the answers to those questions, I simply know that it is true. In relation to this article, this means that your shell would work much better if it was thin and dense than if it large, but not dense. If you did make your shell very large, but with very little energy (so the energy is not densely packed together), it would probably fall apart and let the energy out.
Shelling: How-To
So how do you shell a construct? By now you should be adept in making psiballs and manipulating energy. This translates to: Before you attempt shelling, you should be able to make a decent psiball within three minutes. It would also be a good thing if you can make some psi-cubes and other shapes, so try working on that before moving on. When you create a psiball, you visualize the energy forming into a ball. But for a psi-cube, simply move the energy into a cube shape instead. This is simple for most people, but it helps your energy control, so it is an invaluable practice method for beginners.
To shell something, you first need energy to do it. Begin by creating energy within yourself and moving it around. When you're ready, make a psiball. Try to add as much energy into this psiball as you can, and remember: Density. When you feel good about the amount of energy in the psiball (which should look something like Illustration One), begin to push most of this energy towards the outer rim of the psiball. It should start to look something like Illustrations Two and Three.
You might be wondering how to move the energy as you see in the illustrations. Simple: The same way you moved energy from your stomach, into your hands, and into a ball shape: Visualization - Will - Intent. I'll start you off with a few examples that I use. If your method is visual visualization, the most obvious choice is to use the images you see here in the illustrations. If you want to get creative, you can visualize the energy as snow. As you made the dense psiball, you were "packing" a snowball together. Now you're "pushing" most of the snow towards the edge of the ball. You can even visualize the outer edge freezing into thick, solid ice.
Along the lines of tactile visualization, things get a big harder to describe. You basically want to "feel" the energy creeping towards the edge of the ball. If you want, you can even repeat a phrase over and over in your head (or aloud), to aid you with the visual and/or tactile visualizations. The phrase may be something like, "All the energy is moving towards the edge, all the energy is moving towards the edge, all the energy is....etc.". Or maybe, "I am pushing 90% of the energy in this psiball towards the outer rim, I am pushing 90% of the....etc.". Experiment and do what works.
After you have moved most of the energy towards the outside, as seen in Illustration Three, you want to start forming this part into a shell (as seen in Illustration Four). If you're a visual type person, visualize the energy going from the image you see in Illustration Three, into the image you see in Illustration Four. Remember, your will/intent is a huge factor in all of this, so while you are forming the shell, you need to be thinking strongly about what the shell will do. Think about how the shell is going to hold firmly together, and how it will keep in all the energy inside of it.
For all you tactile people out there, I have a few tactile visualizations as well. Have you ever poured candle wax on your hands or dipped a finger in a container of hot wax? Did you feel the wax slowly hardening? That is a feeling we want to replicate. You can also just use your imagination and create the feeling of something else. If you were using the snow-packing method, you can try visualizing the energy as water or snow and "feel" the outer edge freezing and hardening into ice. The main goal here is to feel the outer energy hardening into a firm shell that will hold all the energy together and inside.
As before, actually more so, repeating a phrase over and over in your head (or aloud), can greatly aid you. A phrase you may like to use would be something along the lines of, "I am forming the energy into a hard shell that will hold itself and the energy inside of it together, I am forming the energy into a hard shell that will hold itself and the energy inside of it together, I am....etc.". You may even like the idea "talking" to the energy. With this example, something like this may work, "You are hardening into a firm shell and you will contain all the energy inside of you, you are hardening into a firm shell and you will....etc.". Feel free to try out what works. Remember, your intent is everything.
After you think you've successfully formed the shell, add energy into the psiball again. Because you used up most of the energy in the psiball to form the shell, the energy inside the shell should be strong and dense, but the energy inside the psiball should be very weak. Add energy the same way you did when you made the psiball. Just visualize the energy going through the shell and becoming "locked" inside, then keep adding more and more psi until your satisfied with the amount you have.
Side Notes and Tips:
A little "extra" you may want to add in is a timer or self-destruct sequence. One thing you must realize is that energy programming (the shell), works just like computer programming. It does exactly what you tell it and will not adapt unless you give it adoption commands. This means that if you program it to hold energy in, as soon as it does that (even if it is for a split second) it may think its job is over and will die out. This calls for something extra. One method is to tell the energy to follow out its programming indefinitely, it will then last until it gets destroyed or until it eventually degrades and dies out. Another method is giving it a timer: Tell the energy to last for five minutes (or some other time), and it will hold together for five minutes (or whatever that other time is) and then automatically die out. Lastly there is the self-destruct sequence. You can tell it to survive until you snap your fingers (or some other physical, mental, or verbal command) and then it will survive until you do so. Visualization ideas are up to you. Try visualizing a timer sinking into the psiball and merging with it. Be creative and do what works for you. I will delve deeper into these aspects in my Programming articles (as this is more on the lines of Programming, not simple Shelling).
How Do You Know It's Shelled?
Well I'm guessing you can't scan energy yet, seeing that you're a beginner. So how can you be sure you shelled the psiball? There are two ways:
(1.) Put the psiball down somewhere and leave it for a few minutes. Come back and see if you can still feel it.
(2.) Have another (,.more experienced) person to scan it for you.
The first method is easier, but less reliable. The reason being that because you're a beginner, you probably aren't that sensitive. Thus, you may not be sure if you're imagining it, or if you're really feeling the energy. Also, if you do feel it, there is a chance it is your brain tricking you into thinking that it is there when it really isn't. The second, assuming the scanner is experienced, is much more reliable. However, it might be a bit harder to get somebody to scan your construct for you. The best way to go about this is to ask the person politely in the chat, explaining what you want and why you want it. If they say "no", you can pose the question, "Will anyone else help me out?" But if nobody answers, then stop right there. The last thing we want is people pestering us. You're not the only one to ask this, so take into account that maybe we just scanned for somebody else, that we're having a bad day, etc.
Conclusion
One of the two big rules in psionics is: "Experiment!" and "Keep Trying!". So if it doesn't work, keep working at it and try out different things. Be creative. Hopefully this article gave you some good ideas to work with, but sometimes it's just best to make up your own visualizations. Shelling a construct is one of the most important things in Energy Manipulation. If a building doesn't have a proper foundation, it will crumble to the ground. Psionics works the same way; if you do not have a proper grasp of the basic skills, you won't be able to move on. The skills you learn in the beginning are built on later, so work at this with perseverance. Keep your goal in mind and think about the future - how good you can be. Practice hard, stay safe, and remember: Experiment with your own visualizations and methods.