Solitude in the Vedauwoos
I want to speak plainly and directly to an entity that I can’t quite perceive.
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Remote Viewing as Spiritual Practice
“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Remote viewing is a practice that is often associated with the “psychic spy” program launched by the military in the 80s. Some may have heard it used in the research of UFOs and other paranormal phenomena. Or maybe you’ve heard about it in reference to finding missing persons and objects.
Truth is, most people have never heard of remote viewing at all. Five years ago, I was one of those people, and pursued training mostly out of curiosity. I was not interested in UFOs, the paranormal, playing the lottery, and certainly not spying.
I was on my own internal journey of exploring different realms of consciousness and the limits of my own mind in expanding awareness. Little did I know that learning the craft of remote viewing would evolve into a profound spiritual experience for me.
Let’s start with the basics – what is remote viewing?
Remote viewing is a discipline that trains the mind to detect information that is hidden from ordinary perception. A trained remote viewer can describe, sketch, even locate a person, place or thing to which she is completely blind.
As you might imagine, remote viewing is used for many material applications — playing the lottery, corporate branding, disaster relief, etc. The list is as lengthy as one’s imagination can stretch.
One is less likely however to hear about remote viewing as a spiritual practice, a tool that can deepen one’s awareness of connection to the infinite web of life.
This interconnectedness has been called many things: “interbeing” by Thich Nhat Hanh, the Akashic records, the collective unconscious by Carl Jung, and unity consciousness by the mystics.
Regardless of the terminology, the experience of connecting to this infinite flow is common to both contemplative spirituality and the practice of remote viewing.
As an advanced remote viewer trained by one of the most respected teachers in the field, I’ve had the opportunity to see remote viewing used in a variety of applications for varying purposes. It’s largely been used for transactional ends, such as helping to find a lost object.
However, there is a powerful case for remote viewing to be seen as an intrinsically potent spiritual tool in and of itself, separate from its utilitarian functionality.
The practice of remote viewing is at its root a deeply spiritual practice, and if honored as the sacred ceremony that it is, can bring one closer to accessing the unified field of unlimited awareness that is often seen as the domain of the mystics.
There are several key aspects of remote viewing that mirror spiritual practices, including but not limited to:
Observer Mind
Foundational to both remote viewing and spiritual practice is the concept of detachment from the rational, linear thinking mind. While the left brain is employed in remote viewing, it is relegated to “serving” the intuitive sensibilities. In other words, one doesn’t turn off the left brain in remote viewing (as if one could . . . ) but it’s quieted so that the subtle streams of data from the intuition can be detected.
This is very similar to contemplative spiritual practices that employ shifting the focus to the “witness” or the observer mind. In meditation, one can’t stop the flow of thoughts, but one can withdraw attention thereby inviting stillness and presence.
Remote viewing uses a set of protocols or steps that gradually shift the focus away from the noise of the linear left brain that is always wanting to provide an answer, to that inexplicable place where remote viewers are able to detect data and information about the “target,” or the subject that is hidden from perception.
It’s important to note that one doesn’t have to be spiritually-minded in order to be a skilled remote viewer, as it is available to all. However, the skills honed in meditation and contemplative prayer translate directly to core principles of remote viewing.
Humility and Surrender
The awareness of the ego is key to spiritual ascendancy as well as being a superior remote viewer. The ego focuses the center of attention on the personality . . . one’s identity . . . the material world.
While one cannot relinquish the ego as it’s essential to survival in this world, attachment to ego can hamper spiritual evolution as well as the practice of ethical remote viewing.
For example, we’ve all heard of spiritual leaders who start out pure of heart and intention, but who fall prey to the power, addiction, abuse, even criminality, that can happen when one becomes attached to being viewed as a “guru” in the field.
Similarly nearly all beginning remote viewers are humbled by the learning process. There is nothing more sobering to the ego than to be sure one has “nailed” the target, but then discover the session to be a complete miss.
However, with practice comes advancement in skill in remote viewing . . . as well as susceptibility to attaching one’s identity to being “uniquely special” This is a dangerous place, because the art of remote viewing relies on surrendering oneself to the omniscience of the subconscious flow of data.
When the ego starts to insert itself into the craft, we often see the misappropriation of the tool in service to lesser behaviors that can include ambition, fraud, greed, and manipulation. A teacher once told me that the best remote viewers are those you haven’t heard of, underscoring the connection between humility and the pure essence of the craft.
Altered State of Being
In deep meditation, one can experience a state of infinite peace and well being. Some describe a feeling of being “plugged in” to something larger than oneself – being in the flow. Described as nirvana, unity consciousness, sadhana, a flow state, this is a byproduct of a dedicated spiritual practice that spans all religions and theologies.
Similarly, when one is in the latter stages of a remote viewing session (usually after about an hour of intense focus), there is often an experience of being inextricably connected to the “target” – a “one-ness” with the field surrounding the object of attention. Boundaries separating the viewer and the “target” become blurred, especially as the noise of the left brain becomes increasingly quiet. This deep meditative state brings a deep sense of connection and integration, as all faculties are aligned in the pursuit of a heightened state of awareness.
Once these states have been experienced – either in contemplative prayer or remote viewing or both – it’s difficult to go back to a life bounded by ordinary perception.
Remote viewing can elevate your spiritual practice to a new level of awareness, confirming that you are a being of infinite power, connection, and love.
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