What is Spiritual Sight and How to Develop It
Spiritual sight is the ability to see that which is unseen
All of us have gifts, skills and talents. This is partly what draws people together, that they like how another does something. In particular, many find themselves drawn by creative talents. We can become enamored with musicians. We fall for singers because their words, voices and passion move us. Artists can capture a feeling through imagery or design and it inspires us.
Athletes can have a similar effect. The development of their physical bodies and the way they command their bodies to achieve an end can be amazing to watch. The same can happen with very successful business people. They might have a very sharp, intuitive talent for creating and growing businesses. Teachers might have the gift to inspire us to learn a particular subject because of their love of it.
The reality about all these talents and skills is that we are drawn by the expression of their higher self. You could even go so far as to say these ways that people are that have an emotional effect on us, that fill us with awe, wonder, joy, that excite something in us, are expressions of God through the person. We are drawn by the God in them. And take it a little further, this is because God is love and we are drawn when we see an expression of love.
People who love what they do and who have worked hard to hone very subtle aspects of a skill or talent are intriguing and attractive to others. Perhaps on a subconscious level we wonder that if we were to have a romantic relationship with this person, that they will put as much attention into us, their partner.
Another thing that opens ones heart is when we feel seen. You might notice something very particular about another and compliment them. When some of these less obvious things are noticed, we feel seen and this can trigger a feeling of closeness and of being understood. God is the same way. He notices very subtle things about us and encourages us to develop these things, especially when they facilitate the expression of love.
But God also sees the subtle and not so subtle aspects of ourselves that are ‘off’. Our character defects, flaws, selfish tendencies, stubbornness, laziness, anger, critical nature, self-pity etc, these aspects are glaring to God even though He allows us to have them. When the time comes that we want to overcome these things and have them transformed, God can illuminate them so we can see exactly where we are off.
This is where spiritual sight comes in. Our quest as soul in body is to purify our beings and thus allow for more Godly expression. Most of us alive today have only a small percentage of our true GodSelf expressing. We may slip into it when we are engaged in activities we truly love or when we are with certain people who bring it out in us. But day to day living with city driving, public transportation, job situations, relationship issues, money struggles, alcohol, drugs, body image stuff, and deeply rooted fears, nag at us most of the day. We as a people haven’t been taught how to grow our God side or if you prefer, our spiritual side very much.
We tend to think of things as spiritual when they bring us peace, or inspire us, or carry that higher wisdom. But just because something makes you feel something doesn’t make it very spiritual. Spiritual things are those things born of love. It’s as simple as that. Learning how to love is really how to become spiritual and that means learning how to give, how to make the right sacrifices for the benefit of others, how to not react against the negativity thrown at you by others and how to keep your heart open even when you feel really hurt.
Something happens as a person begins to allow themselves to be trained spiritually and thus become more loving. And that is that their spiritual sight opens. As we reduce the intake of stimulating substances like drink, drugs, even coffee and cigarettes… as we reduce the dramatic involvement in unhealthy relationships, family relationships that perpetuate old wounds, and begin to bring our masculine and feminine aspects into balance, our conscious awareness of the world around us changes.
Spiritual sight is the ability to see that which is unseen. It is possible that we see things with our eyes but let’s not be so limited by the word ‘sight’. When you hear someone say, “I see what you mean,” they aren’t talking about physical sight but referring to understanding. Spiritual sight is the ability to notice energetic aspects, patterns, blocks to, and free expressions of God… basically it is an expanded awareness of what is truly happening.
Many spiritual teachers, regardless of how they identify themselves religiously, speak about the Christ Consciousness. This is taught as ‘opening to what is’. In simple terms, this means that how we perceive ourselves, others and the world in general is always being filtered through our limited idea of ‘what is’. But there is a deeper reality, a truer energetic picture that exists and we become aware of it, or see it as we refine spiritually.
For real Priests, this is absolutely essential. Priests who are going to counsel souls at the deepest spiritual level and help people in need must have spiritual sight. It is what people come to ministers for, to be guided with that understanding of the deeper truth that they can’t see. And to be guided in the Path of Righteousness.
For example, let’s say a man visits a Priest because he feels the love is gone from his marriage and he is considering a divorce. An undeveloped priest might just ‘preach’ the Gospel that clearly states divorce is not to be considered except in the case of adultery. Therefore, if his wife is not cheating, he must stay in the relationship because of his commitment and God’s command. Even if there is no love there, the priest would say he is obliged to follow through. So how do you think this person would feel afterwards? Probably like crap actually because they wouldn’t feel understood, seen or loved for that matter.
In contrast, a real Priest could tune into the deeper energies of the relationship. Just by listening to the man talk, he could sense the underlying dynamic and how things began to stagnate. If this Priest was familiar with how to receive Guidance from within from the GodSelf, he might hear what to say or if he should say anything as opposed to just holding the space for the man to unload his burden.
In the end, he might recognize that the man has been critical of his wife because she isn’t exactly the way he wants, or perhaps she had misrepresented herself early on in order to win his affection. As time went on, she stopped pretending to be a certain way and he felt betrayed so he resorted to criticism. She withdrew little by little until they reached a point where the openness and love was replaced with anger, guardedness and distance. What is the best thing to do, as the Priest?
Remember that being spiritual means being loving and so the question is what is the most loving thing to do, not do, to say or not say? The average person often thinks he should explain what he sees so the person can be enlightened. But that’s not necessarily the best approach. The Priest knows that God wants husband and wife to work out difficulties and stay together. So the Priest is thinking about how to inspire the man to want to make the changes that will ignite the love once again. He doesn’t have the need to reveal the whole truth just to be seen as gifted. In fact, he shouldn’t be looking to have any of his needs met by the ones coming to him for counsel.
Spiritual sight gives us a clearer picture of the energy of any situation. For those of us who have always felt they have had a gift like this, I want you to let go of the idea that it is particularly developed in you. You might have that sensitivity and wisdom, but do you have the development and love to use it appropriately? We actually want to be somewhat in awe of spiritual sight and thereby recognize that it is a gift from God when we know more about a situation than is evident. There is a responsibility in knowing things like this and before God increases your sight, He will watch what you do with it, how you use it and when you choose to forget it.
The spiritual person grows in love, thereby reducing their involvement in activities that darken the soul. This is a purification process and it heightens the spiritual senses. In combination with taking in Light, working with it consciously and receiving Communion, the awareness of energy and patterns grows. You will begin to feel the subtle expressions of anger that are alive in people in everyday encounters. You may be shocked at the constant passive aggressiveness.
Also, you will notice the Godly ways in which people express, the ones who do give and who make sacrifices for their friends. Eventually, if you remain in the work, you will be graduated to a point where very deep truths about people will be revealed to you for the sole purpose of helping them to be liberated. Just knowing what is going on below the surface isn’t enough. God will also teach you and guide you in what to say and when. Or when to remain silent and just pray for the other.
On a practical level, let’s discuss how you can proactively develop your own sight. First off, you will need to begin a relationship with God within as the Truth will come from this place. Concurrently, you should seek out a teacher because the teacher will be able to see the ways in which you are blind and blocking your higher self from emerging. Decide if you are game for the adventure of knowing so much that is brewing below the surface and will accept the responsibility of such knowledge.
Then begin the long journey of purifying yourself. We need to purify so that we can increase our sensitivity to the extremely subtle energies that circulate around us. In the Christ Consciousness, ‘what is’ is already evident. We just have to become receptive it. This means that on the physical level, reduce the intake of substances like drugs, alcohol and other stimulants. They create artificial highs and obscure the body’s natural balancing function. For example, smoking cigarettes reduces one’s sensitivity to emotions. This may be why people smoke in order to reduce the highs and lows and maintain a contrived sense of calm.
After substances, think about respecting but not obsessing over your body. This means eating enough but not over-eating. Fasting does increase sensitivity to things of the spirit but also tends to affect our ability to concentrate so should be used consciously and sporadically. Exercising throughout the week is important as is getting adequate sleep. These things should be fairly basic for you if you are looking to progress deeper in your spiritual work.
The next level is that of mind and emotion. Limit your intake of negativity. This means be discerning about what sort of things you read and watch as in horror movies, gossip magazines and trashy romance novels. Stay away from reality tv that simply aims to ridicule people and highlight their emotional outbursts. Watch your tendency to get into down states such as moodiness, depression, sadness and lethargy. Work on developing and practicing ways to shake yourself out of these time sucking mind sets and emotions.
Finally, be very proactive, disciplined and consistent in your meditation practice, devotional work (prayer life, relationship to God, spiritual exercises etc) and service work. Combined, these commitments will grow the Light in you which is really the key to ‘seeing’ on a spiritual level. By taking on this sort of lifestyle, and joining a community where this work is the priority, you will shortly begin to see life very differently. While there is no escaping the vast amounts of darkness and negativity that we as humans perpetuate, making the shifts discussed here will open you to the incredible beauty and wonder of a life in the spirit.