Spiritual Development

Dillion13, Reiki, mediumship, and psychic abilities aren't 'mystical powers'. They are gifts/abilities you are naturally are born with. Me, I received them from spirit and opened up mine.

I never said they were mystical and I don't think gaffs did either. We only see as mystical what we don't understand.

Magic isn't a mystical power either. It is a very exact science we can explain with scientific principles. Nothing is mystical if you undersand it. My point originally was, you can develop these whtever-you-want-to-call-them, or you can grow spiritually and get them naturally. Either way, you get them. Why would you not want to work on spiritual growth, and instead focus on one thing that is really not that special, such as psychic abilities?

In Yoga it is taught that as you practice you will gain "siddi" or what the ancient yogi termed "natural magics". These are Visions (the perception of normally invisable objects), Aureoles and Illuminations (radiant light around the head and body), Compenetration of Bodies (when a material body appears to pass through another, or being receptive to being enerted by a departed saint), Locutions (interrior illuminations), Reading the Hearts (telepathy and empathy) Incendium Amoris (burning sensations in the body without apperant cause), Bilocation (being in two places at once), Agility (which, strangely, they define as "the instantaneous movement of a material body from one place to another without passing through the intercening space"; teleportation), Levitation, Body Incombustibility (defying the normal laws of combustion), Body Elongation or Shrinking, Inedia (an archaic term meaning "abstinance from all nourshment for great lengths of time"), and the Odor of Sanctity. Many of these, or all of them really, are similar to psychic development.

In the Mahayama and Hinayana traditions of Buddhism, there are said to be six powers, or abilities, that result from meditation that are present in all bodhisattva. These are Riddhi (a broad catagory which includes becoming invisable, astral projection, the ability to recieve pervasive knowledge, and the power of complete concentration, among others), "divine hearing" of spiritual voices, perception of the thoughts of other beings, recollection of previous existences, "divine vision" or knowledge of others and the cycle of life and death, and knowledge concerning the extention of one's own impurities and passions.

With both of these traditions (And there are others. Both of these lists are similar to the requirements of cannonization to sainthood by the Catholic Church. Hmmmm...) caution against being concerned with these abilities, as they distract you from your true goal, which is spiritual development. There is a lesson for all of us there.

LVX,

Shawn.

I believe any "abilities" or "senses" are merely a side effect of walking on one's path. I think people get lost or stuck when they attempt to acheive those things alone.

Yes and a few of these I think fill in the blanks for many of us.

Thank you Peyote! That is exactly my point. So, why then do we have so many posts on here about developing this or that?

LVX,

Shawn.

Its simple. We want power now without working for it. We want the short easy road. But that doesn't lead to enlightenment.

This may be a short and concise, almost general opinion, but spiritual development as I see it happens from experience. Those powers may help to gain experience, and can sometimes be good to have, however, they are not the development itself. The development is in essence a result of experiences and factors of which those powers are examples. I do think asking for advice is ok, great actually, but I also think the best experiences come from when you learn as much as you can on your own or from someone very close to you that you can relate to spiritually.

I agree with Shawn, and such on the later comments.

While I do agree about why you gain ehose powers Karia, I do not think actually working at gaining them is the best way to gain experience, not do I agree that it is a desirable thing to do. If you are working towards a goal of, say, psychic development, and you achieve some level of success, it can cause a disillusion that you have progressed spiritually or that you have done someing good. It feeds the ego, rather than bringing the ego in check. Also, I would disagree about learning on your own. While many do, I do not believe there is any substitute for a qualified, in person instructor. Learning on your own is the least desirable way to learn.

LVX,

Shawn.