SIDDHI (Sanskrit: "accomplishment," "attainment," "perfection"). The term Siddhi is most often applied to a variety of spritual-related psychic capabilities or powers manifested by adherents in the Hindu and Buddhist realms. Through recognizing emptiness, clarity and openness of the mind, different qualities arise naturally, since they are part of mind. The Buddha, whose personal name Siddharta is based in the root-word and means "he whose aim is accomplished," distinguishes between two types:

Normal Siddhis: all those forces of the conditioned world that transform elements.

Extraordinary Siddhis: the ability to open beings up for the liberating and enlightening truths; to lead to Realization.


Siddhi is typically defined as "a magical or spiritual power for the control of self, others and the forces of nature." The Siddhis described by occultists and yogis are in actuality Supernormal Perceptual States available to all human beings. These are absolutely natural abilities that can be explained in highly rational terms. There is nothing mysterious or magical about the Siddhis.[1]


SUPERNORMAL PERCEPTUAL STATES:

According to the "experts" then, Siddhis are actually supernormal perceptual states. All well and good, but what the heck are supernormal perceptual states? The explanation basically just shifts the unexplained definition of Siddhis being called Siddhis to another set of words that are just as much unclear.

Simply put, what is being said is that supernormal perceptual states are states that are beyond what is typically within the purview of the normal range of perception. For example, a dog whistle. The sound of a dog whistle is beyond the range of human hearing, yet a dog can hear it. Relative to us it is a supernormal perceptual state, but NOT for the dog.

Most of us are familiar with the colors of the rainbow. Those "colors" are just a small part of a larger spectrum of light that of which, beyond the colors of the rainbow, are unavailable to most people without the use of some sort of an enhanced mechanical device.

Infrared is located just beyond the red side of the spectrum with ultraviolet appearing just beyond the violet end. Night vision devices primarily operate utlizing infrared light, enhanced through the use of lenses and such to the point that it becomes visible. Going in the same direction beyond infared are microwaves and radio waves.

Bees can see ultraviolet at the short-wavelength end of the spectrum. But, unlike humans, bees can't see red -- at the longer wavelength end of the spectrum. Red looks black to bees. X-rays, which we use machines for all the time, are beyond ultraviolet. In some cases for some people X-rays are faintly visible to the dark-adapted naked eye but it is not known what exact mechanism in the eye produces the visibility. Although some exprimental tests have born out the possibility to be true, people who do see them, because they do not fall within the normal range of vision most are conditioned for, often do not realize what they are or what they are seeing.

Before the rise of the variety of detection devices all those x-rays, microwaves and such were unknown and thus did not "exist." The thing is, they did exist all along, just super perceptual. Most people these days, even though those supernormal perceptual states are not typically perceived during their routine daily lives, would pretty much agree that they do exist. The same is true of any number of potential states beyond the normal range of most peoples experience.


THE POWER OF SIDDHIS:

The Buddha said "If a monk should frame a wish as follows: "Let me exercise the various magical powers, let me being one become multiform., let me being multiform become one, let me become visible, become invisible, go without hindrance through walls, ramparts or mountains as if through air, let me rise and sink in the ground as if in the water, let me walk on the water as if on unyielding ground, let me travel through the air l