Spiritual discernment is largely a Christian concept. It means using the power of the Holy Spirit to understand messages from heaven that might be hidden in ordinary things. But it translates into all forms of esoteric practice. Here, it describes the ability to see higher truths behind mundane objects like angel numbers. Let’s explore spiritual discernment meaning.
Spiritual Discernment Meanings
1. Discover Hidden Errors and Sins
Many religions believe in the afterlife. According to their teachings, life on earth is merely a precursor or preparation for eternity, and the things you do here will affect where you go when you die. Other religions shift this slightly through incarnation. In their context, the way you live this life influences what you will be when you come back e.g. a bird, insect, or saint.
While you’re in this material plane, circumstances from past lives (or even your current one) can manifest as bad luck, misfortune, or illness. Spiritual discernment can help gifted gurus sniff this out. You might suddenly feel weak in one leg if you had a war injury there from a past life. Or you could get sick if you harmed a neighbor or were cruel to a sanctified beggar.
2. See the Secret Evil in Those Around You
Lots of cultures have shamans, medicine women, or gurus. The Western world assumes all these are dark practices, so they historically burned witches and forcefully converted pagans. But these traditional practitioners had close connections to spirit guides and parallel planes. They could communicate with guardians from other dimensions to see a person’s inner self.
This means if someone was secretly wishing you harm, spiritual discernment would reveal their machinations. You could consult a guru to tell you if someone had cursed you or was sabotaging you. But it’s a tricky field because lots of people take advantage and lodge false accusations to get people in trouble. So it’s crucial to find a true spiritual expert to do this.
3. Bring Out the Good in Others
Spiritual discernment can do the opposite as well. It can look into the deepest, darkest clouds and draw out the silver lining. After all, even murderers and thieves can love their children, and a person with spiritual gifts can sift through the harshest of souls to find nuggets of their good nature and amplify them. This can be helpful if you’re about to interact with cruel folk.
Maybe you’re going into a meeting with a ruthless business mogul. Or maybe you’re seeking funds for a worthy cause and you’re approaching cold capitalists. You could consult a seer to advise you on the best time, day, and tactics to approach your target. They can also advise on colors, herbs, or talismans you could wear during the interaction to tap into their soft side.
4. Dig Into Our Deepest Selves
If you spot an angry dog and it starts chasing you, your adrenal rush can probably help you break a speed record. But the Usain Bolts of the world have the talent and discipline to do it on demand. Similarly, some people with superior spiritual discernment skills can be light workers. But everyone has a little wisdom and can tap into this ability with enough practice.
It’s especially useful for personal growth and introspection. With activities like meditation and manifestation, spiritual discernment can help you spot your inner flaws and unworthy motivations. It can also expose the purest parts of your soul that have been hardened by your life experiences. In this sense, that ethereal wisdom can purify you and raise your vibrations.
5. Express the Seven Spirits of God
Going back to Christianity for a moment, Apostle Paul describes the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans chapter 12 verses 6 to 8, or Romans 12:6-8. These seven gifts are prophecy, ministry, teaching, encouragement, leadership, generosity, and compassion. With spiritual discernment, you can figure out which gift(s) a person has and how to effectively apply them.
For example, someone with the gift of ministry or service doesn’t necessarily have to join the clergy. They could train as a medic and work in underprivileged regions. Most gurus and life coaches have the gift of prophecy or insight. The gift of teaching or instruction isn’t just for school – you could be a sports coach! Someone with generosity can run a successful charity.
6. Find Your Higher Purpose
When we come down to earth from the heavens, we often do so with a goal or target in mind. But once we take on our mortal forms, we forget and/or lose touch with our higher selves or spirit guides. Since we come down to learn specific lessons and achieve a set project, we may come back several times before we complete the task. Spiritual discernment is a big part of it.
We may have prior agreements with gurus that we will meet on this earth and they will set us on the right path. Or we may have left the heavenly realm with a special friend that we have to reunite with on earth. Guardian angels can give us the spiritual discernment to rediscover these memories. They can do this through angel numbers, animal totems, or special prayers.
7. Pick a Life Partner
Marriage happens in lots of different ways. For some, it’s a practical arrangement. You want to raise a family or be accepted as a responsible grown up so you settle down. Or it could be a way to unite two legacy families for your joint benefit e.g. among monarchs and moguls. But you could also just fall in love with someone and choose to build a life together in harmony.
That said, the success of this union depends on finding the right partner. Most of us have a ‘type’ whether that’s based on looks, character, financial stability, or ethnic background. But true compatibility is under the surface. Spiritual discernment can bring this out in various ways. Some communities use astrology and numerology while others use personality tests.
8. Make Fruitful Decisions
We’ve seen how spiritual discernment can help you find your other half or select the right career path. It can also guide you through specific choices like which house or car to buy. These are big investments, and we often base them on color, model, location, and budget. But what if the person selling you the property or car is dumping it for unscrupulous reasons?
Maybe someone died in the house so they want to get rid of the bad juju. Or the neighbors are doing renovations that will block the view. Maybe the car seemed prone to accidents and they think it’s cursed. Or maybe it’s a high-maintenance model that’s too expensive to keep. These facts may not be obvious, even with a background check. But the spirit always knows.
9. Learn the Truth that Matters
In practical terms, you can use discernment in a multitude of ways. It can help you know when someone is lying, which is a useful skill for lawyers, teachers, law enforcement, or even parents. In the academic context, discernment is the ability to analyze and synthesize deeper information. You could apply this to anything from literary criticism to medical intervention.
But spiritual discernment goes below the surface. A doctor can tell you that your tummy feels like it’s burning because of an ulcer. And the ulcer may be a result of stress. But a guru can go deeper and tell you the anxiety comes from a decades old fight with a loved one and guide a reconciliation process. It could even be a generational feud between long-dead grandparents!
10. Decipher Inner Messages
Another arena where spiritual discernment comes into play is through traditions like tarot. A deck only has 78 cards, but a gifted reader can consult their spirit guides to translate targeted messages during readings. Other practices that use the same skillset include face, palm, and tea leaf readings. It’s spiritual discernment that turns these simple objects into messengers.
Angel numbers also fall into this category. To many of us, 11:11 is just a moment on a digital clock. But it could be a heavenly text leading you to a particular choice or opening powerful portals for manifestation. Even if you’re not a trained shaman, you can sharpen your own spiritual discernment skills through regular meditation. It makes heavenly missives clearer.
11. Be Wise Without Judging
The ability to discern spiritual truths isn’t just about thought. It’s about action too, and this is where many humans go wrong. For example, people who quit smoking or lose weight often dismiss those who can’t or won’t. And this contempt breaks down any form of connection so the successful quitters and shedders can’t even help others along the path they already took.
With spiritual discernment, you not only uncover the best ways to reach your goal, but you also develop compassion and empathy for fellow travelers. After all, to teach someone a new skill, you have to recall what it’s like to be ignorant and tap into that feeling. In this sense, a discerning soul can see things others can’t without judging those who don’t see those secrets.
