It's hard to explain, and I'm not sure of all the answers, but here goes Helana explains. I'm more than just smoke, or an image projected to your consciousness, I'm a complete fully formed dimensional entity with hands and feet and arms and legs and eyes, and just about everything else that you have. But I'm out of phase with your dimensional framework, and my body extends into more dimensions than you can see, so I'm either completely invisible here or you just perceive me as a ball of energy, or a wisp of smoke. So in that sense I can see just like you can, but there's more.