1. You need to learn how to feed. By learning how to feed on psychic/pranic or other energies you inversely develop a level of control as to when not to feed.  The most widely known of these intentional feeding  techniques was discovered and posted first on one  of the informative resource sites which teaches this process in depth is a site called Psychic Vampire Resource Site & Forum http://www.psychicvampire.org ,  this site focuses on Mudras and the connection between the head heart and hands, also know as  another called http://www.psivamp.org  , Other excellent sites concerning these topics include sites like SphynxCat’s Real Vampires Support Page http://sphynxcatvp.nocturna.org.
   
2. Pick yourself up a copy of the psychic energy Codex, and if you have time the psychic vampire codex , both by author Michelle Belanger. While I find both these books insightful and brilliantly written, the psychic vampire codex IS NOT Designed to fit all the different types of psychic vampires. The Psychic Energy Codex contains very detailed and brilliant instructions on how to develop your abilities.
3. Once learning to feed, the next   crucial step in your development as a psychic vampire is the ability to shield. Shielding is a method of psychic protection. in the beginning you might want to try surrounding yourself with an egg or cocoon of white light, in positive energy… in more adept level you may develop the ability to “spin shields” . create one by using the elements, or even in the most advanced levels create one using spirits of the dead. Once again all this info can be found at the psychic vampire resource and support pages as well as throughout the entire vampire community.
4. Before you go out **important** to try your skills, I advise you to familiarize yourself with a set of ethics known as the “Black Veil” . I personally gravitate more to version 3…  Not  version 4 of the black veil (which will be on the psivamp.org site week 4) and is clearly an attempt for certain parts of the community to cover their ass because they have gotten too high of a profile.
5. When going out, to a vamp or goth club or vampire/vampyre meetup, keep your distance at first then move in. We do tend to be territorial by nature, and walking right up, demanding entrance because your a grand poohbah vampire and people should know you…doesn’t fly, its rude…
6. Intelligence will get you a lot farther in the vampire community than claiming to be evil…or high lord mucky muck or calling yourself “the Impaler” aka Jonathan Sharkey;  or another calling himself  “the Emperor” .
7. when meeting fellow vamps play it kewl…relax… unless you feel someone feeding off you, in which case i recommend shielding immediately, then tracing the link and reciprocating…(most time newcomers to the vampire community are scanned a bit or diven the tendril once over as i recall it.) Though technically the beacon should be a good enough signal.
8. Some otherkin and advanced psions and Magus to have a type of beacon as well.

And this concludes my first blog.

Hope this helps

-Lono F Vespertilio

Fruitbat/Founder