We hear a lot of talk about miracles in modern spirituality — how we can create them and attract more of them. But what if the real secret is that there are no miracles at all. It’s not that impossible things don’t happen; they are simply a natural function of our reality.
Throughout history, miracles have been associated with elevated minds, expanded states of consciousness, and even holiness. Millions of people around the world accept that Jesus healed the sick, walked on water, and turned water into wine — or that the Buddha had psychic abilities, saw past lives, and could be in two places at once. Ancient yoga masters were reputed to have the power to defy gravity through levitation and defy space through teleportation. Saints have reportedly performed miracles of all kinds: the warrior Joan of Arc foretold the future and heard God’s voice, the mystic Teresa of Ávila ascended to a higher dimension through the rapture of divine communion, and Franciscan priest Anthony of Padua spoke in tongues that people of all languages could understand.
Eastern yogic traditions call these extraordinary abilities siddhis, a term for the seemingly magical or spiritual powers exhibited by highly evolved human beings. The word siddhi means “perfection” in Sanskrit as their presence represents the achievement of ultimate spiritual practice. Siddhis include shape-shifting, levitation, invisibility, teleportation, and other forms of radical self-mastery. Though some may call them supernatural, we can understand them as demonstrations of human potential.
The answer can be found in the way we live our lives. I have never heard a story of someone bilocating while watching television and eating pizza. I have also never heard of anyone gaining miraculous superpowers by becoming rich or successful. These extraordinary experiences are not about the world at all; they are about our relationship with ourselves and the depth of our union with the inner dimension. They show us what we can one day be capable of if we dedicate ourselves to the inward-facing reality of existence. Many saints, gurus, and enlightened teachers were also regular people like you and me.
The potential is there, we just have to aspire to it.
by kim chestney
