What is Spiritual Subtlety? Here’s How to Develop Perception Beyond Five Senses and Mind

-By Arya Vaishnavi

In order to be aware of something, you do not necessarily need to see or touch it. You just know. This knowing comes naturally as you become more subtle over time in your spiritual journey. But how is this different from the five senses? 

Well, your five senses are merely responsible for allowing you to see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. But beyond this lies subtlety, in which you simply feel. It can be anything, from the presence of something or someone to the depth of the space around you. 

The art of being subtle is not something you can either teach or learn. It comes from within as you become more spiritually mature. The more you meditate, the more your perception expands. 

Before the start of your spiritual journey, your perception is limited to your five senses. But when you begin meditating, you learn to be aware of whatever is happening both within you and around you on a deeper level. 

For instance, as you sit down and close your eyes, you begin to notice your breath: How your torso expands with each inhale, and contracts with each exhale. As you continue with this, you become more subtle and start noticing the gaps between each inhale and exhale. 

This is often the first step towards spiritual subtlety. Think about it, breathing is not only what keeps us alive, but is the first thing we do the moment we take birth. Despite it being the most basic and important aspect of our existence as human beings, most fail to notice the very thing that is keeping them alive.

Secondly, you begin to watch your thoughts from a distance when you meditate. One of the key things that happens when you start meditating is that you realise that you are not your thoughts but are the one who is simply watching them. There is a fine line between simply watching your thoughts and becoming them. 

This can only be accomplished through a sincere approach towards your meditative practices. The ability to not engage or interfere with your thoughts, all the while being aware of them, forms part of spiritual subtlety. Only those who are subtle enough can accept their every thought, be it positive or negative, and not be entangled in it.

In the spiritual path, you undergo massive transformation, both inside and out. You begin to observe everything and absorb nothing. And whatever you do absorb, you observe that as well. Hence, you stop responding to the inputs from your five senses, reducing the energy expenditure in the physical world. 

While you are still aware of the matter, you naturally perceive what is beyond it. Without even having to see, touch or hear, you know when something or someone is present in your surroundings. Your feelings are no longer just limited to the cause and effect of these five senses; you feel everything. Both - What is and what isn’t, in shape or form. Because even empty space is something. To put it simply, subtlety is one of the qualities of your own being.