Are spiritual perceptions all alike, and how do seeing, hearing, smelling, and inner sensing differ?

They differ. Some see images, some hear voices, some are especially sensitive to smells, and others perceive inwardly. Saying someone communicates spiritually still requires asking how and what they perceive. It does not mean everyone has every ability or can handle every matter.

For spiritual sight, I first ask whether the person sees ghosts, deities, or both. What is commonly called yin-yang sight often refers to seeing ghosts, while heavenly sight may involve higher levels, deities, or other matters. Seeing remains different from communicating or handling something. Clarify the person's actual abilities.

Spiritual hearing involves messages from another world. I have said such people often have some connection with Guanyin Bodhisattva, but the voices' origins still need discernment. In our faith understanding, deities and unseen beings may both convey messages, so hearing something does not make it divine. I consider having both sight and hearing relatively uncommon. Yet Dao Xuan has described seeing, hearing, and inner feelings, so people are not necessarily limited to one type.

Spiritual smell means experiencing scents from the spirit world. Dao Xuan and I have discussed smells associated with negative energy or illness. Sometimes sandalwood or flowers suggest divine arrival, and some people distinguish deities through scent. These are the religious sensations discussed on those occasions.

Another form, inner knowing or heart-based perception, need not involve literal seeing or hearing. Dao Xuan described images of vines, stones, or spiderwebs arising during religious work to sense energetic conditions. These are unlike ordinary visual sight and belong to Dao Xuan's own learning and service experiences.

Some also express messages through tools, such as spirit writing, planchette work, sacred palanquins, or our Chinese chess divination. In my understanding, people connect with deities and convey messages through the medium. These categories share what I know and have experienced to distinguish feelings from abilities. Practice still requires caring for ourselves, cultivating character, and continuing to learn.