Spiritual Gifts of Discernment
by Rev. Judith A. Baldwin
Excerpted from the forthcoming book,
The Spiritual Gifts of Discernment, by Rev. Judith A. Baldwin
_____________________________________________
That which is looked upon by one
generation as the apex of human knowledge is often considered on absurdity by
the next, and that which is regarded as a superstition in one century, may form
the basis of science for the following one.
-Paracelsus
_________________________________________________________
Humankind is spiritually ripe; or at least a growing
number of us are. Perhaps it is the anticipation of apocalyptic events which
urges us back to our spiritual roots. Or perhaps we have grown weary of the
limits of the reasoning masculine mind bereft of the intuitive feminine mind. In
any case, isn't it strange that 20th century humankind should at once be
irrevocably drawn toward spirituality, and yet be ignorant of what qualities and
skills are inherent in a spiritual being?
With the intention of reclaiming the knowledge of our
inherent spiritual nature, let us look backwards to pre-history, and retrace the
journey our thinking has taken. Once this was a world where spirit and human
were inextricably linked, where every experience was rooted in the rich soil of
spiritual overtones. But we turned away from our spiritual heritage and sought
after what was intentionally spirit-less.
Before the historical period, the human and non-human
species which inhabited this earth, relied upon a sixth sense to sustain
themselves. This visceral knowing, of gut feeling, was present in all of nature
long before we learned to rely solely on what we now call the five senses.
Throughout history, were it not for the hierarchal
pronouncements which declared spirit, mind and body as being different "stuff,"
Western science would not have discounted the remote internal sensing we now
call intuition, or non-local mind. In other worlds, our thinking would not have
veered away from what was natural to life on earth; that is an inner knowing, or
intuition. In time, this prescribed disowning of "aspects" of our spiritual
selves, resulted in the ostracism and even murder of those most intuitively
gifted or spiritually advanced.
Across the millennia the faculty of thinking, passing
from universal mind to individual human, can be recognized in these distinct
stages of human consciousness.
A Glimpse at the History of Thinking
- In the beginning, human and nature were entwined. This human was a
being belonging so entirely to the natural processes of the world that she was
without an individuated consciousness. That is to say, the consciousness of
this "natural being" made no personal response to the impact of nature. Rather
nature and she were one. Until this "natural being" evolved enough to detach
from the organic process, and observe natural events through the eyes of
onlooker as opposed to inherent participant, mythological history could not
begin. For history belongs to human beings with consciousness sufficient to
separate enough to view events from some distance, no matter how slight; and
not to natural beings so finely interwoven within the matrix of nature they
could not be differentiated from it.
However, there was a price for humankinds' extrication from
natural beingness. It was the loss of, or the denial of natural clairvoyance,
clairaudience, and the other psychic faculties intrinsic to natural being's
experience. Without an individual consciousness, natural being shared
unselfconsciously, or naturally, in thinking which was the purview of higher
intelligence, or greater beings. Natural being was so close to the spiritual
world she was more aware of spiritually than she was of the physical world
around her. This was the time of mystical "history" when humankind
intrinsically knew the secrets of the cosmos.
- The epoch of "natural being" came to an end between 4000 and 3000 BC
and was typified by the people of the Middle East who civilized and socialized
their existence. They precipitated a startling transformation of consciousness
when through language and writing they defined themselves, and thus separated
themselves from the natural world around them. Now were they more observer
than participant in the greater experience of Life. At this point, they
declared themselves no longer the puppets of the gods or the spirits, and
began to disregard their inner knowing. Thus, with this separation from the
spiritual world, they began to exclude themselves from their natural though
unconscious birthright, the inherent experience of psychic awareness.
- As we cross the bridge of socialization to ancient Greece, we find
individual thinking humanizing universal intelligence through the great myths.
Now is humankind weaving her own thoughts and beliefs, replete with the
capacity for human error. Whereas fate once rested in the hands of the gods,
individuals proclaimed themselves masters of their own destinies. So wanes the
ancient faculties which gave birth to mythology; and thus is born the
beginning of the Greco-Roman Age, we find the first blossoming of Western art,
architecture, drama, poetry, oratory, and politics.
Fading is the reliance on intuition or inner knowing.
Thinking now is based on logic as exemplified by Aristotle's reflections on
perceptual stimulus and response. This kind of thinking was to last more than
two thousand years.
- In 524 AD at the sixth Council of Nicea made the disowning of spirit official.
The Council ruled that humankind would no longer consist of spirit, but only
of soul and body. Thence forward the spirit was relegated to an intellectual
quality of the soul. Quite literally, by eradicating the individual human
spirit the Council closed the gates of the spiritual world for the mass of
humankind. Only the hidden Orders of Initiates retained the knowledge of
spiritual realms and the capacity for spiritual vision, and the original gifts
of discernment.
The Dark Ages (A.D. 476 to about 1000), inexorably followed
the Council's ruling. Humankind turned away from the light of spiritual
inspiration from the end of classical civilization until the revival of
learning in the West. The belief that thinking, arising solely from the
physical brain, is the way to reach ultimate truth would last into the Middle
Ages.
- The 14th century Renaissance which ushered out the Middle ages, led
Western mind to quickly become familiar with the forces of the physical world
in order to harness these forces for material ends. Now does mind turn fully
toward invention, investigation, technique and the properties of matter.
Humankind was at the gateway between handcrafting and industry. Yet this was
not so much a sign of greater mental acuity, but rather the result of mind
moving into a new sphere.
- In the fifteenth century Western thinking is following sense-derived
observations. By the sixteenth century the dawn of the age of science and
materialism is well underway. As with the later Greek mind, ideas are "real,"
and phenomena, including and most especially mystical experience has become
insubstantial.
Francis Bacon, the father of modern science, expresses
perfectly the mood of this age: "Reality only presents itself to us when we
look upon the world of the senses. The senses alone provide us with realities,
the realities of empirical knowledge." Thus was the age of inductive reasoning
underway, and the Western mind was now fully separated from its former
awareness of spiritual origin; and alone in a mind devoid of "heavenly
help." Science is the "place" to worship, and observation and experiment are
"holy."
- Thus did the Western mind completely sever the link to the spiritual
mind. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, consciousness was focused
on materialistic existence. Spiritual faculties were kept alive only within
the secret lodges of the craftmasons who had built Europe's great cathedrals,
and the secret Orders of Initiates and their Mystery Schools.
- In the present moment, thinking has descended even further from its
spiritual beginnings. It has turned into cold inhuman abstraction; the kind of
thinking which spawned nuclear weaponry, ethnic cleansing, genetic
experimentation and manipulation, environmental devastation of this planet,
and the proposed rape of distant planets, all in the name of scientific
advancement. Now have we unleashed powers which our thinking cannot control.
We have arrived at the threshold of our annihilation - and/or new beginning.
Perhaps our salvation lies in the full reunion of body, soul and psychic
spirit.
But wait, what if all is not lost? Can the mind
actually lose some of its inherent properties? Can the powers that be actually
dictate the quality of our thinking - without our acquiescence, that is? Is it
possible for us to actually fall so far from the original blueprint of
consciousness?
Thinking is but the product of the mind, not the mind
itself. Perhaps as our thinking moved farther and farther away from our
spiritual essence, so did the expressions of our souls until what was once
inherently spiritual now is exclusively mental. If that were so, at the deep
inherent level of being, or our natural state, we would not be changed at all.
Rather we would be expressing ourselves differently, thought not really changed.
Our thinking and beliefs may have wandered far from the original us, but the
original self remains nonetheless, regardless of the wandering.
That being so, what if history is no more than a
subjective perspective of what has occurred? What if there are parallel
histories: one seen by thinking humankind, and one seen by spiritual humankind?
What then would be normal and what paranormal? What believable and what
extraordinary?
It is intriguing that in our Western dictionaries
psychic is defined as extraordinary mental processes; while the ancient Greek
defines psychic as of the soul. Further exploration of the dictionary reveals
"psyche" as "the spirit or soul. The mind [non-local] functioning as the center
of thought, emotion, and behavior."
So another word for soul is psyche, which also means
mind and self. And mind comes from the Greek menos, for remember,
indicating that the psyche has a past. While self comes from the Sanskrit swa,
meaning one's own, oneself. Then does it follow that psychic skills are the
gifts of the spirit resident in our original mind?
Discernment comes into the equation because these
original gifts were meant to be used to guide we spiritual beings safely through
our earthly adventures. After all, discernment is defined as "the act or process
of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment." Spiritual wisdom admonishes us to
be wise stewards, and so we shall be with spiritual discernment.
Though we have been anesthetized, deadened, blinded and
deafened, we long for our spiritual gifts of discernment, or psychic faculties,
in which is encoded our spiritual certainty, to show us the way to reawaken our
sleeping Self.
In the seventeenth century, the Cartesian dogma of
dualism pronounced the rational mind king, and the felt sense as second rate,
unimportant and unreliable. Perhaps three and a half centuries later it is time
for a fresh start. What if we changed Descartes' "I thin there I am" to "cogito
ergo non sum, I think, there I am not?" For clearly we no know that it is only
when we stop thinking that we begin to be. And perhaps science would like to
join in the experiences of spiritual being. As Charles Tart so clearly stated in
his address to the Second Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in
1993: "...we would also be fools not to let the potential and power of genuine
spirituality inspire our scientific efforts, lest the world expire in that
slough of despondency know as scientism."
Even though it would seem that although there is a
conflict between spirituality and the current scientific paradigm, the paradigm
is not science. It's just the scientific belief system adhered to at this point
in history. Right now science is faced with an unexplainable anomaly: that is,
it has no explanation whatsoever for the existence of consciousness. The fact
that we humans are, each and every one, being that have experiences is
undeniable.
Day after day every scientist on earth must face the
fact that they are a conscious being. Yet nowhere within the current scientific
paradigm is there a prediction that life is conscious. Indeed, this is a
scientific anomaly. Itself mystical and nearly ethereal, quantum physics has
given scientist the means of exploring the human experience heretofore
unreachable. Because of the quantum correlations now confirmed as present in
nature, one wonders if perhaps the original sense, that is the intuitive or
inner felt sense, is the natural sense, and therefore the first sense.
Quantum hologram research leads us to this conclusion
and explains virtually all the psychic or intuitive experiences and effects that
humans have reported during historic times.
Further, as science moves into the next paradigm, the
superparadigm, it will see that consciousness is primary; and space, time,
matter and energy emerge out of consciousness.
Spiritual Gifts of Discernment
For every physical sense there is a corresponding
spiritual gift, or spiritual "sense." Humankind is ready at last to resurrect
and redevelop these gifts.
- Seeing/Clairvoyant: One who sees
clearly; seeing beyond what the physical eyes can see; acute intuitive insight
or perceptiveness; visionary; ability to "see" into the etheric world and
other dimensions; ability to see lights, shapes, colors, geometrical figures,
auras, thoughtforms, discarnates, other worldly being, etc.; understands the
meaning and significance of messages and/or symbols; ability to reach into
another vibrational frequency and ascertain symbolic information; can see at
will or spontaneously; best accomplished in meditative or alpha state.
Subjective clairvoyance is " seeing" within the mind, or
behind the yes, seeing on back of eyelids or back of forehead.
Objective clairvoyance is perceiving a vision at a point in
outer space, like watching a play or a movie.
One is advised to keep clairvoyant visions under control,
perceiving only when desirable or advisable. Being besieged by or interrupted
by constant visions can rob the seer of her own life. Such continuous psychic
intrusion and distraction can lead to nervous disorders mental illness.
- Hearing/Clairaudient: One who hears
clearly; hearing of things beyond the range of the normal perception of
physical ears; hearing the music of the cosmos; inner hearing of profound
words, or hearing important messages from other dimensions; understands the
meaning and significance of messages and symbols; can hear at will or
spontaneously; best accomplished in meditative or alpha state.
Subjective clairaudience is "hearing" within the head.
Objective clairaudience is "hearing" words, music sounds from
"out there."
A more rare skill is tuning into the subtle vibrations and
frequencies of nature to hear the sound of grass growing or flowers opening.
One is advised to keep this skill under control at all times. Uncontrolled or
incessant sounds, voices and messages can interfere with tasks at hand, become
extremely distracting, cause accidents, and eventually lead to psychotic
breakdown.
- Feeling/Clairsentient: One who feels
clearly; inner sensing or feeling; hunchability; inspired feelings and
knowings; especially sensitive to "gut feelings" and whole body sensations
like "shivers" or "goosebumps;" synonymous with intuition; understands the
meaning and significance of feelings; can feel at will or spontaneously.
This kind of psychism is easy to develop but it is doubted
the most. Clairsentience is the least disturbing to the feeler because it
comes within the body at any time and does not take her attention from other
things. It is often disregarded, or when noticed, is quickly put aside.
- Knowing/Claircognizant: One who knows
without reason for knowing; clear knowing; meaning and information come into
the mind like downloading a computer; knowing "bottom line" information
without benefit of data; appeals to the masculine. "I don't know how I know, I
just know"; understands the meaning and significance of information; can know
spontaneously or at will.
- Sensing/Clairempathy: One who feels or
senses the physical, mental, emotional sensations, impulses or thought of
another; a form of telepathy; ability to tune into an area or event and feel
the attitudes and feelings of those who were present; understands meaning and
significance of feelings; can sense spontaneously or at will; often used in
police work.
One is not clairempathic unless she can discern which
attitudes, thoughts and emotions are hers and which belong to another.
It is advisable to keep this skill under control so one is
not overridden by symptoms, conditions and reactions which are not one's own.
Taking on another's responses can lead to confusion and uncertainty, and
eventually sickness.
- Smelling/Clairscent: One who smells clearly; smelling
odors, foods, fragrances not in one's surroundings; can indicate an omen such
as being in the presence of a high being; e.g. essence of rose indicates
presences of a Christed One; frequently a psychic taste accompanies the smell;
understands the meaning and significance of the smell and/or taste; can smell
at will or spontaneously.
- Tasting/Clairsavorant: One who tastes without putting
anything in the mouth; clear tasting; frequently a psychic smell accompanies
the taste; understands the meaning and significance of taste and/or smell; can
taste at will or spontaneously.
In addition to the spiritual gifts, we are gifted wsith
the spiritual sensitivities and the spiritual faculties, all of which are part
of the original endowment of our spiritual blueprint. Mostly that endowment has
"rusted and atrophied," laying in wait for us to reclaim it. such a reclamation
asks of us the same kind of commitment and discipline needed to refine any skill
or attribute.
There are prohibitions to the spiritual gifts built
into the beliefs, personalities and behaviors we have adopted. Likewise there
are tools which aid and refine our lifestyle, allowing us a greater expression
of the spiritual gifts; just as there are instructions for expanding the
spiritual faculties and honing the spiritual sensitivities.
It is likely that not all the spiritual gifts,
sensitivities and faculties will be highly developed in all of us. Some may
remain potentially ours, while others may mature. Just as we are not all
talented in the same ways, so we may not all express our spiritual talents to
the same degree. Still the potential is there, and as humankind evolves more
abundantly into the full expression of spiritual giftedness, what seemed
exceptional will be the norm. Our spiritual future is guaranteed. In this we can
rejoice. A child of God is a spiritual prodigy whether she realizes it or not.
Even though she may never choose to develop the full allotment of spiritual
giftedness, the gift is nonetheless given. As with any real gift, only she can
say if and when it will be realized.
Spirit Releasement Therapy / Past Life Therapy / Recovery of Soul Fragmentation /
Birth Regression / Spiritual Protection / UFO Contact and Abduction /
Spiritual Immune System / Spiritual Gifts of Discernment |
