The Secrets of Psychic Abilities
According to the cognitive beliefs of the Yin Fu Sect to which I belong, all things possess a 'Nature' (Xing). The meaning of 'Nature' is broad, encompassing such concepts as heavenly nature, earthly nature, human nature, spiritual nature, intellectual nature, conscious nature, divine nature, etc. This 'Nature' differs from the modern concept of 'attributes'. The modern concept suggests that different things have different attributes; an attribute exists in one thing but not in another. However, the understanding of 'Nature' is different: 'Nature' is inherent in all things from the beginning, and there are distinctions between skillful and clumsy manifestations. What appears to be absent is merely a weakness (concealment) of that specific nature. This is the original meaning of the phrase in the Yin Fu Jing: 'Natures vary in skill and clumsiness, and can be concealed.' If the concealed parts can be revealed, then one has 'seen the nature'.
The psychic ability of things is a part of the 'spiritual nature' among the various natures of things. The importance of spiritual nature lies in the fact that only when it is revealed can one use that revelation to communicate with mysterious forces. Without spiritual nature, such communication is impossible.
These hidden forces, whose names are unknown, can be roughly classified into deities, Buddhas, demons, ghosts, monsters, etc. In later generations, those who could communicate with these forces were often called 'Wu' (shamans), written in traditional characters as '靈' (Ling), which inherently contains the meaning of shamanism. However, shamanism is a very primitive term with a broad scope, arguably the origin of major religions. Later, sages established teachings to educate the people. After establishing religions based on deities, they combined their respective religious doctrines to package and transform the most primitive shamanic methods, which then became the secret rituals within various religions.
Among these beliefs, the psychic ability of things is divided into innate psychic ability and acquired psychic ability through human effort. The process of 'Kai Guang' (consecration/opening the light) is the process of revealing spiritual nature. In通俗 terms, it is the targeted enhancement of the spiritual nature of ritual objects. Naturally, materials with greater inherent spiritual nature are better. It is best to choose objects that possess innate psychic abilities. The most typical example is jade, which has innate psychic characteristics, but its price is extremely high, making it unaffordable for ordinary practitioners. For instance, the Mountain-Sealing Ritual Seal of the Jiulao Xiandu Jun at Maoshan is made of jade. According to mythological legends, some ancient objects spontaneously generate spiritual intelligence and then cultivate themselves into spirits or monsters, such as the Pipa Spirit and the Fox Spirit.
Acquired psychic objects are mainly caused by human influence. This primarily depends on the effort and heart invested in the item's creation, the skill of the maker, and whether sufficient mental energy was infused during the process. This is a very complex procedure. It is rumored that swords made by ancient masters possessed spiritual nature upon completion; they would sing long when drawn from the scabbard and sound spontaneously when encountering killing intent. The Yin Fu Sect of the Daoist tradition houses such swords. I have personally tested them, and indeed, some swords emit a long, sharp metallic cry upon being drawn from the scabbard. It is heard that such swords usually undergo a mysterious process during manufacturing: generally, newly made swords do not have sword patterns initially. Instead, the master needs to be in a dark, enclosed room, using a series of techniques and psychic rituals to generate sword talisman patterns on the blade. Not every sword has the same pattern, nor does every sword with a pattern produce sound, nor are all sword patterns useful. The original natural method for making talisman swords has been lost in the modern market. Modern methods for creating patterns on swords mostly use chemical agents to corrode metal, making it impossible to recreate the perfect sword patterns of ancient spiritual swords. Therefore, although modern casting techniques may be more advanced, due to the lack of the fervent and devout pure faith of ancient master swordsmiths, most swords made today are merely crafts. Even after consecration, because they lack the natural talisman pattern enhancement, their psychic abilities are far inferior to ancient swords.
The best are ritual objects that possess innate spiritual nature and are further influenced by human effort. For example, jade artifacts from the Liangzhu period, 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, sourced from either the Maoshan Mountains or the Tianmu Mountains, known in historical records as 'Maoshan Jade'. Compared to Hetian jade, it is not as warm and moist, but it has high hardness and is extremely difficult to carve. All the long patterns carved on the jade are not carved in one go but are formed by countless tiny horizontal lines engraved in relief, and finally polished with gem powder until mirror-like. This process requires immense effort. The ritual objects produced can be directly used to communicate with heaven and earth and to sacrifice to deities.