Treatise on the Five Senses From a Spiritual View
It would seem to the astute believer, coupled with an inherent faith that the scriptures are actually true; that what is heavenly (spiritual) is couched or contained in that which is earthly (fleshly - in types and images). With this in mind we must venture into the visible (physical) bodies five senses in order to understand what the hidden "spiritual" five senses might be. Since the physical senses are used as a catalyst for sin to gain entrance and mastery over the flesh and effectively steal our souls (hearts) from us (which is best termed "spiritual thievery"), it would be prudent and wise to understand this.
In the beginning before we can create any real awareness of our own, there is a spiritual awareness that gets its strength from the spirit of Elohim who forms us in the womb. This hidden awareness remains with us until the day our physical bodies die. We are able to perceive this by the involuntary processes that makes our heart beat, our lungs breathe, our system to digest and eliminate what we eat, our eyes to blink, our body to heal its wounds, etc.. However, along with these "involuntary" movements the other form of awareness begins to develop in our soul as soon as we are able to "reason" or collaborate data gained from our senses which makes us distinct from all other souls.
Now the fruit that our individual soul produces is derived from the culmination of all the "experiences" we have processed and witnessed through these senses in our life. It is important at this juncture to point out that none of these senses have the power to conceive an experiential "awareness" upon its lone input but must be accompanied by another witness of the same experience. For instance a child can infer nothing of value or gain any experience from "hearing" the word "hot" without anoOver time, the physical senses create what we call "awareness" which "moves us" or influences us to act in certain ways which often manifests who and what we are while "in the world" as creatures of flesh; just as the spiritual senses move us and compel us in a way that re-defines who and what we are as creatures of the spirit (so whether it be the spirit of the world or the spirit of God we are moved by the foundations of our faith).
It is written that Jesus "grew in stature and in wisdom" while he was growing up in a "slaves form". This is an important thing to bear in mind for we must all grow the same way so it is how we are "brought up" that influences our soul (individual spirit consciousness) or heart, hence it is written in Proverbs; "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.". So our upbringing is critical to our spiritual health. Since Mary, the mother of Jesus was "blessed among women" and had "found favor with God" and Joseph was described as "being just" not to mention that all three of them were often visited by angels of God, it is beyond presumption to believe that Jesus was brought up "in the way he should go" by righteous men and women from His youth up. For the rest of us, this type of growth in the spirit was not possible until Jesus poured out that spirit during the Pentecostal period (which is continuing to this day) declared in the book of Acts for we are reminded in John that He is "the true light that enlightens every man coming into the world".
So let us examine the senses and how they shape our "awareness" and what that means. First, the senses whether physical or spiritual are really a window or doorway to our "soul" where all that we see, hear, smell, taste or feel is captured, processed and stored in our subconscious mind (heart/soul) for the duration of its life. The physical/fleshly senses do all of this in the depravity of our lower/outward (carnal) image which is not capable of discerning the spiritual; while the spiritual senses discover and process the light in the higher/inward substance while remaining "aware" of the lower forms that it might get mastery over them.
So again, the awareness that is created by our physical senses is exclusive to our own particular growth and no one can know it but by our words and our acts. This is the opposite of spiritual awareness which is of the One spirit and shared by all who own it (being aware that you are aware have you) and others with this spirit will know it in you.
ther sensory input witnessing to and allowing one to process the word accurately. Now if you were to place the child's hand upon a cup with hot (but not too hot!) coffee in it while saying "hot", that child's senses (hearing and feeling) have now formed an experience that is true awareness which will warn the child (via the subconscious mind/soul) anytime either of these two witnesses (senses) might encounter a similar event requiring caution whether it is merely seeing a cup or hearing/seeing the word hot! Now both of these witnesses and the awareness they create will give birth to increased awareness as other inputs fortify, increase or change in any way in our daily walk.
Bear all of this in mind as you begin to grow in stature and wisdom from a spiritual standpoint for those senses are also creating new experiences from the witnesses they receive. This process is not a stranger to "worldly" religious leaders and kings who in their carnal lusts have used it to commit spiritual thievery upon those they wish to "lord it over". This includes all religions (atheists, statists, evolutionists, capitalists, communists are also forms of religions for these all bind people to a "way" other than the Way of Truth) These religions use speech, radio, television, movies, newspaper, news channels, schools, etc.. in repetitive mantras using both your "sight" and your "hearing" to form an experience in you, but these are "false witnesses". No matter how you examine it the experience is false because you do not own it of yourself but have fallen prey to deceptive practices. Unlike actually "seeing" the cup and "feeling" the hot (whereby your senses were able to create a true experience) the media events were not true experiences because all that was purported is "hearsay" and all that was seen was an image/video that can be altered or modified or associated with a monologue that has nothing to do with it...well you get the idea. Yet both of these can create an awareness, one true and useful to the body and soul while the other false and detrimental to the body and soul. Nonetheless, these seem just as real as a real experience and people who gain them will fight to preserve them.
Let us now endeavor to address each of the physical/fleshly senses and see if we can come to understand their spiritual counterparts bearing in mind that all of the physical senses have in common that they do not perceive the spiritual and can only provide physical experiences to create carnal awareness which is the fallen state of man in the first birth. Yet the spiritual can not only perceive the things of the spirit but also the things of the flesh for what they truly are.
Seeing (physically/carnally) can be the actual viewing of an earthen thing (image) or it could be the dreamlike viewing of one's creative imagination which is influenced by the awareness that already exists. This is why those of the world put so much effort into beguiling you with visual media so as to form your awareness into thinking and doing according to their will. Once one is "raised up" the way they (rulers of the world) wish you to speak and act it is extremely difficult to change. Thus one must be willing "to leave all that he has behind" and "start with a new lump" i.e. come to regard all experiential awareness received in the world that was not personally obtained while in the flesh as "dung". It is the doffing of the old moth eaten garment for a new everlasting garment.
Seeing with the eyes of the spirit gives depth to your vision as never before as it sees both the lower/outward (fleshly) forms and the higher/inward (spiritual) substance of things. Even imaginations and dreams are carefully scrutinized by spiritual eyes as to source. This vision is very difficult to accept initially because it discovers all of the "earthly treasures" (sins) stored up in ones soul. But if one puts faith in the Truth and conforms to it, he will come to know the Father and the Son who is in all things.
Hearing, much like seeing has to the same two variables. If one hears only physically/carnally, he is limited to the same conditions as "seeing" above. If one hears spiritually he can also discern the errant ways of what is physically heard. Where the Word is concerned, the physical sense can only hear the lower/outward (fleshly) forms of sound. All of the scriptures are seen as substance when in fact they are only types and images (forms) of substance. For example, to the carnal mind the animals in the "bible" are actual animals and not representative of types (character traits) of people. This is demonstrated for us in detail in the epistle of Barnabas. It is also revealed to us by Paul when he speaks of the Abraham's two wives as being "allegories" in that they mean two covenants. Although people have heard this (declared), they still cannot perceive that all of the accounts in scriptures have similar hidden meanings in them which is why Jesus said; "those who have ears to hear, listen to what the spirit is saying."
Smell is a bit more difficult to address for this particular sense is deeply associated with taste so these usually bear witness together in order to create an awareness. When we first smell an odor, it is a new experience for us and has no real meaning unless one of the other senses give witness to what it is. We only know that it is either pleasant, or unpleasant to take in. Some pleasant odors can be deadly while some foul odors are quite good for you so it is critical to have that second witness to help us know which is which.
From a spiritual perspective, odors are often synonymous with sacrifice or prayers and how they are presented determines whether or not they are of benefit or detriment. One who prays or sacrifices in a lower/outward (fleshly) heart (disobedient and sinful nature) is considered a foul odor to the Father but, where when one prays in spirit and in truth or ones sacrifice is a lowly spirit and a contrite heart it is considered a joyful or sweet aroma. Either way we need two witnesses in order to create a real experience whether it be spiritual or carnal.
Taste is not much different in that eating physical food can give us a witness to something that we find either pleasant or unpleasant it cannot without a second witness provide a true awareness. Just as physical food has a direct bearing on our physical health, spiritual food has a direct bearing on our spiritual health. For instance from a spiritual perspective; if we eat what the world feeds us in its lower/outward (fleshly) forms (customs, traditions, ordinances, festivals etc..) we will find ourselves in a depraved spiritual condition. This food although sweet enough in our mouths (we do love a good lie especially when it hides or covers our sins) it becomes bitter in our bellies (when we discover the Truth). If we eat what the Word (Messiah) feeds us in its higher/inward (spiritual) substance, we will find ourselves in a robust spiritual condition. This food (the Truth) is also sweet in our mouths but found to be bitter in our bellies (for it discovers our sins to us). Now there is no condemnation for those who accept the Truth and act upon it!!
Feeling is much more complex than the word "touch" but captures the depths of this particular sense as touching is purely an outward expression in a physical sense where feeling is both inward and outward. For instance one can feel pain from touching something hot, yet one can also feel pain when their heart is contrite. This form of pain born of tribulation is of the heart and soul but can be felt physically by those who experience it. This is also one of the few senses that are able to influence the soul that it knock on the door to spiritual awakening. Feeling in both realms can also give pleasure. Physical feeling once witnessed by another input give awareness to whatever it is that caused it. If it is carnal in nature it will bear fruit to pride, covetness, fornication etc.., if it is spiritual in nature it will bear fruit to love, joy, peace, charity etc..
Now the Key to all of this is that there are two realms of understanding; the lower/outward (fleshly) forms of the five senses and the higher/inward (spiritual) substance of the five senses. Now bear in mind that the image can either be that of God (in the spirit of Truth), or that of the beast (in the spirit of the world). Not so as to confuse the matter but to give us clarity as to why it is so difficult to discern for most people. The spirit of the beast truly believes that it is the substance of things when in fact it is not while the spirit of God bears witness to both conditions. Knowing the difference should help those who are toiling and laboring in the Word that it guides them into all Truth (higher/inward spiritual meanings) in the scriptures.
It would seem to the astute believer, coupled with an inherent faith that the scriptures are actually true; that what is heavenly (spiritual) is couched or contained in that which is earthly (fleshly - in types and images). With this in mind we must venture into the visible (physical) bodies five senses in order to understand what the hidden "spiritual" five senses might be. Since the physical senses are used as a catalyst for sin to gain entrance and mastery over the flesh and effectively steal our souls (hearts) from us (which is best termed "spiritual thievery"), it would be prudent and wise to understand this.
In the beginning before we can create any real awareness of our own, there is a spiritual awareness that gets its strength from the spirit of Elohim who forms us in the womb. This hidden awareness remains with us until the day our physical bodies die. We are able to perceive this by the involuntary processes that makes our heart beat, our lungs breathe, our system to digest and eliminate what we eat, our eyes to blink, our body to heal its wounds, etc.. However, along with these "involuntary" movements the other form of awareness begins to develop in our soul as soon as we are able to "reason" or collaborate data gained from our senses which makes us distinct from all other souls.
Now the fruit that our individual soul produces is derived from the culmination of all the "experiences" we have processed and witnessed through these senses in our life. It is important at this juncture to point out that none of these senses have the power to conceive an experiential "awareness" upon its lone input but must be accompanied by another witness of the same experience. For instance a child can infer nothing of value or gain any experience from "hearing" the word "hot" without anoOver time, the physical senses create what we call "awareness" which "moves us" or influences us to act in certain ways which often manifests who and what we are while "in the world" as creatures of flesh; just as the spiritual senses move us and compel us in a way that re-defines who and what we are as creatures of the spirit (so whether it be the spirit of the world or the spirit of God we are moved by the foundations of our faith).
It is written that Jesus "grew in stature and in wisdom" while he was growing up in a "slaves form". This is an important thing to bear in mind for we must all grow the same way so it is how we are "brought up" that influences our soul (individual spirit consciousness) or heart, hence it is written in Proverbs; "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.". So our upbringing is critical to our spiritual health. Since Mary, the mother of Jesus was "blessed among women" and had "found favor with God" and Joseph was described as "being just" not to mention that all three of them were often visited by angels of God, it is beyond presumption to believe that Jesus was brought up "in the way he should go" by righteous men and women from His youth up. For the rest of us, this type of growth in the spirit was not possible until Jesus poured out that spirit during the Pentecostal period (which is continuing to this day) declared in the book of Acts for we are reminded in John that He is "the true light that enlightens every man coming into the world".
So let us examine the senses and how they shape our "awareness" and what that means. First, the senses whether physical or spiritual are really a window or doorway to our "soul" where all that we see, hear, smell, taste or feel is captured, processed and stored in our subconscious mind (heart/soul) for the duration of its life. The physical/fleshly senses do all of this in the depravity of our lower/outward (carnal) image which is not capable of discerning the spiritual; while the spiritual senses discover and process the light in the higher/inward substance while remaining "aware" of the lower forms that it might get mastery over them.
So again, the awareness that is created by our physical senses is exclusive to our own particular growth and no one can know it but by our words and our acts. This is the opposite of spiritual awareness which is of the One spirit and shared by all who own it (being aware that you are aware have you) and others with this spirit will know it in you.
ther sensory input witnessing to and allowing one to process the word accurately. Now if you were to place the child's hand upon a cup with hot (but not too hot!) coffee in it while saying "hot", that child's senses (hearing and feeling) have now formed an experience that is true awareness which will warn the child (via the subconscious mind/soul) anytime either of these two witnesses (senses) might encounter a similar event requiring caution whether it is merely seeing a cup or hearing/seeing the word hot! Now both of these witnesses and the awareness they create will give birth to increased awareness as other inputs fortify, increase or change in any way in our daily walk.
Bear all of this in mind as you begin to grow in stature and wisdom from a spiritual standpoint for those senses are also creating new experiences from the witnesses they receive. This process is not a stranger to "worldly" religious leaders and kings who in their carnal lusts have used it to commit spiritual thievery upon those they wish to "lord it over". This includes all religions (atheists, statists, evolutionists, capitalists, communists are also forms of religions for these all bind people to a "way" other than the Way of Truth) These religions use speech, radio, television, movies, newspaper, news channels, schools, etc.. in repetitive mantras using both your "sight" and your "hearing" to form an experience in you, but these are "false witnesses". No matter how you examine it the experience is false because you do not own it of yourself but have fallen prey to deceptive practices. Unlike actually "seeing" the cup and "feeling" the hot (whereby your senses were able to create a true experience) the media events were not true experiences because all that was purported is "hearsay" and all that was seen was an image/video that can be altered or modified or associated with a monologue that has nothing to do with it...well you get the idea. Yet both of these can create an awareness, one true and useful to the body and soul while the other false and detrimental to the body and soul. Nonetheless, these seem just as real as a real experience and people who gain them will fight to preserve them.
Let us now endeavor to address each of the physical/fleshly senses and see if we can come to understand their spiritual counterparts bearing in mind that all of the physical senses have in common that they do not perceive the spiritual and can only provide physical experiences to create carnal awareness which is the fallen state of man in the first birth. Yet the spiritual can not only perceive the things of the spirit but also the things of the flesh for what they truly are.
Seeing (physically/carnally) can be the actual viewing of an earthen thing (image) or it could be the dreamlike viewing of one's creative imagination which is influenced by the awareness that already exists. This is why those of the world put so much effort into beguiling you with visual media so as to form your awareness into thinking and doing according to their will. Once one is "raised up" the way they (rulers of the world) wish you to speak and act it is extremely difficult to change. Thus one must be willing "to leave all that he has behind" and "start with a new lump" i.e. come to regard all experiential awareness received in the world that was not personally obtained while in the flesh as "dung". It is the doffing of the old moth eaten garment for a new everlasting garment.
Seeing with the eyes of the spirit gives depth to your vision as never before as it sees both the lower/outward (fleshly) forms and the higher/inward (spiritual) substance of things. Even imaginations and dreams are carefully scrutinized by spiritual eyes as to source. This vision is very difficult to accept initially because it discovers all of the "earthly treasures" (sins) stored up in ones soul. But if one puts faith in the Truth and conforms to it, he will come to know the Father and the Son who is in all things.
Hearing, much like seeing has to the same two variables. If one hears only physically/carnally, he is limited to the same conditions as "seeing" above. If one hears spiritually he can also discern the errant ways of what is physically heard. Where the Word is concerned, the physical sense can only hear the lower/outward (fleshly) forms of sound. All of the scriptures are seen as substance when in fact they are only types and images (forms) of substance. For example, to the carnal mind the animals in the "bible" are actual animals and not representative of types (character traits) of people. This is demonstrated for us in detail in the epistle of Barnabas. It is also revealed to us by Paul when he speaks of the Abraham's two wives as being "allegories" in that they mean two covenants. Although people have heard this (declared), they still cannot perceive that all of the accounts in scriptures have similar hidden meanings in them which is why Jesus said; "those who have ears to hear, listen to what the spirit is saying."
Smell is a bit more difficult to address for this particular sense is deeply associated with taste so these usually bear witness together in order to create an awareness. When we first smell an odor, it is a new experience for us and has no real meaning unless one of the other senses give witness to what it is. We only know that it is either pleasant, or unpleasant to take in. Some pleasant odors can be deadly while some foul odors are quite good for you so it is critical to have that second witness to help us know which is which.
From a spiritual perspective, odors are often synonymous with sacrifice or prayers and how they are presented determines whether or not they are of benefit or detriment. One who prays or sacrifices in a lower/outward (fleshly) heart (disobedient and sinful nature) is considered a foul odor to the Father but, where when one prays in spirit and in truth or ones sacrifice is a lowly spirit and a contrite heart it is considered a joyful or sweet aroma. Either way we need two witnesses in order to create a real experience whether it be spiritual or carnal.
Taste is not much different in that eating physical food can give us a witness to something that we find either pleasant or unpleasant it cannot without a second witness provide a true awareness. Just as physical food has a direct bearing on our physical health, spiritual food has a direct bearing on our spiritual health. For instance from a spiritual perspective; if we eat what the world feeds us in its lower/outward (fleshly) forms (customs, traditions, ordinances, festivals etc..) we will find ourselves in a depraved spiritual condition. This food although sweet enough in our mouths (we do love a good lie especially when it hides or covers our sins) it becomes bitter in our bellies (when we discover the Truth). If we eat what the Word (Messiah) feeds us in its higher/inward (spiritual) substance, we will find ourselves in a robust spiritual condition. This food (the Truth) is also sweet in our mouths but found to be bitter in our bellies (for it discovers our sins to us). Now there is no condemnation for those who accept the Truth and act upon it!!
Feeling is much more complex than the word "touch" but captures the depths of this particular sense as touching is purely an outward expression in a physical sense where feeling is both inward and outward. For instance one can feel pain from touching something hot, yet one can also feel pain when their heart is contrite. This form of pain born of tribulation is of the heart and soul but can be felt physically by those who experience it. This is also one of the few senses that are able to influence the soul that it knock on the door to spiritual awakening. Feeling in both realms can also give pleasure. Physical feeling once witnessed by another input give awareness to whatever it is that caused it. If it is carnal in nature it will bear fruit to pride, covetness, fornication etc.., if it is spiritual in nature it will bear fruit to love, joy, peace, charity etc..
Now the Key to all of this is that there are two realms of understanding; the lower/outward (fleshly) forms of the five senses and the higher/inward (spiritual) substance of the five senses. Now bear in mind that the image can either be that of God (in the spirit of Truth), or that of the beast (in the spirit of the world). Not so as to confuse the matter but to give us clarity as to why it is so difficult to discern for most people. The spirit of the beast truly believes that it is the substance of things when in fact it is not while the spirit of God bears witness to both conditions. Knowing the difference should help those who are toiling and laboring in the Word that it guides them into all Truth (higher/inward spiritual meanings) in the scriptures.
No comments:
Post a Comment