The Difference between Psychic and Spiritual

Now and then in the course of the writings on this blog I use the words psychic and spiritual to differentiate between two states of being and knowing, stressing that the former is often mistaken for the latter, particularly by ex-materialists unfamiliar with religion, but the two should not be confused since they relate to quite separate realities. One might be said to be human, all too human, while the other, spiritual, is only known when an individual goes beyond the normal human condition.

The geography of the universe can be considered horizontally as is customary, but also vertically. It is useful, and quite probably accurate, to conceive of the totality of existence in terms of levels with the physical world understood as the lowest level, that in which matter is most material and consciousness most restricted. Though these very characteristics enable the development of mind which has to work to express itself and, through working, grows.

The world, then, has vertical as well as horizontal extension. If the lowest level is the most material we may understand the highest to be spiritual, and in this case the psychic level is midway between the two. I must emphasise that this scenario is grossly simplified but it has at least a symbolic accuracy and carries with it implications of a hierarchy of being which informs us that life is a unity in which there is an ordered diversity.

The psychic plane is higher than the physical (higher meaning freer and more expansive) and relates to it as the mind does to the body. But still it is the plane of subjectivity, being comprised of our thoughts, feelings, desires, beliefs and experiences, both individual and collective. This gives us the clue that it is largely a creation of the created. Spirit and matter are divine realities but the psychic plane is the product of human and non-human thinking and imagining. (Non-human as it contains entities that are of a different order to ourselves, entities known in folklore and myth). It is both formed of and contains the psychic impressions and experiences of all created life. This does not mean it is illusionary because these impressions may be grounded in created reality, but it is still a subjective world in which truth can only be seen through filters, the filters of our own limited consciousness. If we are operating in it, we interpret reality, we do not see it directly. Our understanding and perception is refracted through our mind and will always have a personal tint. You might say it is still sensually based which is why the psychic plane is regarded as a phenomenal world, phenomenal in this instance meaning a non-spiritual reality in which externals still dominate for remember that form-based thoughts are external to the soul.

If the psychic world is subjective, the spiritual world can be seen as purely objective. What this means is that our awareness of it is direct and untouched by personal factors. We see it as it is so person A sees and comprehends the one self-same reality as person B. This means that anyone who wishes to see spiritually must, to a large extent, transcend the limitations of their personality. Not deny their individual self but remove the psychic blinkers, attachments, desires, fears, conditionings, prejudices, both individual and collective, and so on that belong to the personal self. Spirit transcends sensory experience as it does individual thought. The world of spirit is that of first principles which are not mere abstractions but living realities fresh from the mind of God. If we would know these, truly know them not just theories about them, we must conform ourselves to them, and that means purify ourselves of the stain of sin which clouds our minds and darkens our hearts. Sin is always the mark of separation from objective truth.

The psychic world is a world of personal experience, even if that experience is of supernatural things. The world of spirit is that of objective reality. In the psychic world we are still functioning in the world of creation. The world of spirit is that of God himself.

If all this sounds bit abstract I have some good news. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of spirit as he is of truth, and deep contemplation on his person will provide an insight into spirit. Just make sure it is the real Christ you meditate on not a concocted figure by which I mean one of your own or of collective imagining which would be a psychic thing. If you need to ask me how to tell the difference I must say I can't tell you. That is something you must discover for yourself from intuition. But if your heart is true and your aspiration pure that will not be too hard.