Spiritual Development

I see a lot of posts about learning particular things, such as "seeing auras", "developing magical powers", "opening the third eye", "awakening the kundalini", etc.

I once had a conversation with the Dali Lama. Most amazing man. To paraphrase one of the things he shared with me, "Anyone can learn to have magic powers. But, to someone who works on spiritual development, these things happen naturally. Powers such as these are not a sign of spiritual development. Work on yourself, and you will get there."

Just wondering what everyone thought about this?

LVX,

Shawn.

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I think there's a difference between spiritual development and PSYCHIC ABILITIES.. there is no such thing as powers, magical powers, ect. It has nothing to do with 'magic'. It's just connecting with Source and being spiritually awake. I guess psychic development has something to do with spiritual development. :)

I think you are right in one sense. There is a big difference between psychic abilities and spiritual development. You will gain those psychic abilities as you grow spiritually. You can call it magic, mediumship, psychic abilities. You say tomato, I say tomato (That doesn't have quite the same effect when written out.). Point is, you can develop these things, and be no closer to your spiritual self than dirt, or you can grow spiritually, gain all the cool stuff too, and be more developed. Why would you want to be the baby on the Capital One commercials, throwing the money back at Jimmy Kimble? Lol!

LVX,

Shawn.

If there are no powers how can we heal with Riki. Why do psychics exist to help solve crimes. How do we break bricks with our bare hands. To the wise even the small things become gifts. Makeing people laugh and smile is a power when you think about it.

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.