Psychic Ability and Enlightenment

The topic of spirituality is on many people's minds at the moment, with talk of the Great Awakening being a hot topic. As a species we are moving towards greater spiritual enlightenment, but where does our psychic ability fit into all this?

I'm sure most of you are aware that we are moving into a new spiritual age, and this has been foretold for several decades now with popular culture referring to the "Age of Aquarius" and the whole "New Age" spirituality movement gaining more ground with each passing year.

I have to admit that many more people than ever before are coming to me, and others like me who work in the psychic and spiritual world, to ask questions. I welcome this and I'm always happy to share what I know to help people on their spiritual path. I'm frequently asked questions about spiritual growth, psychic ability and enlightenment.

New Age spirituality (as you may hear it called, although I'm not particularly fond of that title) is not particularly well organised. In the new era we are moving into, we will be naturally inclined to move away from the old style religions with their uber-masculine structure, discipline and routine, and the focus is on self discovery. Unfortunately, this lack of structure means that it can be hard for people to find simple and reliable answers to what should be quite straight forward questions.

I will try to answer a few frequently asked questions below that should help make the issue of where psychic ability fits in with our enlightenment a bit clearer.

First of all, I'm going to clarify very briefly what I mean by the terms Psychic Ability and Enlightenment.

What do I mean by Psychic Ability?

To me, your psychic ability is an umbrella term for a number of higher senses which are usually referred to as "supernatural."

These include Clairvoyance (sight), Clairaudience (hearing), Clairalience (taste/smell), Clairsentience (touch/feeling) and Claircognisance (knowing).  

There is actually nothing supernatural about them, they are actually completely natural and normal, but most of us have no idea how to use them, and there is very little formal help or guidance available in the mainstream to help us to develop these natural born skills and integrate them successfully into our lives. 

These are the abilities that I use in my work whether I'm giving a card reading, communicating with my guides or the spirit world, providing services such as energy clearing or spiritual healing. You might like to think of them as a more subtle version of our five physical senses. 

What is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is the awakening of the true self, the final stage of our spiritual journey when we become one with God again. We remember who we truly are and see the world through the eyes of the divine, if we are still incarnate when it happens. The Buddha or the Christ would be an example of an enlightened man.

It's a state that we will all reach or return to at some point, but which may not happen in this lifetime depending on our karma and our individual spiritual path.

So how does Psychic Ability fit in with Enlightenment?

It's widely accepted by many spiritual traditions, as you progress in your own spirituality and become more enlightened, that you will at some point, pass through a stage where you effortlessly develop those psychic abilities mentioned above (and possibly more) and gain mastery over them.

I had a very interesting conversation with a Tibetan Buddhist monk a few years ago on this topic because I wanted to know his take on the psychic work I did with my readings. I was curious because it was my understanding that Buddhists view psychic ability as a distraction on the path to enlightenment.

He explained to me that as a monk, his aim was to achieve enlightenment, and that yes the awareness and mastery of psychic ability was a stage that he expected to pass through on that path. He told me that he had been taught not to dwell much upon when it happened, it so it did not become a distraction to his ultimate goal of enlightenment in this lifetime. Understandably, the human ego could be very tempted to use these abilities for selfish personal gain or to show off with, and he was keen to avoid falling into that trap.

In respect of the work I do as a psychic, he said that he didn't see any problem with that because my aim was to help people with it, which he felt was a laudable goal. 

So in answer to the original question above, the link here is that your psychic ability will become heightened the more enlightened you become. There is certainly reason to associate the two, because enlightenment does bring psychic ability along with it, but it's also important to understand the difference between the two and that they do not always exist simultaneously.

Psychic Ability =/= Enlightenment

I feel that it's very important to stress that you will meet people who have very strong psychic or "supernatural" abilities who may also have gained an impressive level of mastery at using these natural gifts, but who are not particularly enlightened.

I have met some of these people, and whilst they might believe themselves enlightened or special because of their obvious talents, the fact is that they may not be. After spending time with them you begin to realise that they may not be as enlightened as their psychic abilities would lead you to believe. 

Some of these people have inflated egos, or may be high in narcissistic traits which at best makes them annoying, or at worst, exploitative of other people or even dangerous. In light of this fact, I can understand one of the motivations that the mainstream religions may have had to forbid people from using these skills. Whilst psychic ability can be very empowering, in the wrong hands it can also be hazardous.

The sad fact is that you can be very unenlightened, but have a naturally strong psychic ability. In a spiritual sense, you might compare these people to psychic savants. They have one particular strength, but in other crucial areas they are deficient. In my experience these people tend to be lacking in real empathy and compassion which are two of the primary traits you'd expect to see in an enlightened human being. 

You can also work to expand and strengthen your psychic abilities without necessarily becoming more spiritually enlightened. Ideally the two should be studied together if you go down this path, and for many reasons including your own wellbeing, but sadly it is entirely possible to expand your psychic abilities without becoming a better person or more spiritually enlightened in the process.

I think the bottom line here is that whilst enlightenment brings psychic ability, the reverse is not necessarily true!

As we ascend or move towards enlightenment as human beings, I fully expect to see an emergence of psychic ability in the general population of the world as we begin to unfold and blossom as a species. We are naturally becoming more enlightened as time goes on due to the spiritual evolution process, so I feel this is inevitable.

Our psychic ability is an intrinsic part of all of us, and it is there for us to use. What we choose to do with it, and whether we use our skills to the betterment of mankind or not, is entirely up to us.

We live in a world of duality, of opposites, black and white, good and bad, hot and cold. We will always have the choice to use any psychic ability for good or for bad, for the benefit or for the harm of others and ourselves. 

One of the most important lessons we will need to learn therefore, as we develop and grow on a spiritual level in the coming years, is that it is our responsibility to make sure that we use these skills with discernment and wisdom, but also compassion and kindness.

Having psychic abilities will not make you enlightened, but how you choose use them will make a big difference to your spiritual path!