Hey Gorgeous!

Growing up, I thought spiritual gifts were limited to only the sensational and the spooky, like seeing dead people or having prophetic visions. These are indeed a couple of ways that spiritual ability manifests, yet culture has done us a disservice by portraying spiritual gifts in this narrow way.

We all have at least one spiritual gift, yet too many of us feel we aren’t blessed with our own direct connection to Spirit. This is partly due to our modern paradigm of perceiving and understanding the world and ourselves as primarily physical or physical first. But as others have said before me: You don’t “have” a soul. You are a soul that has a body.

When you think of yourself as a spirit, the idea of spiritual gifts or spirit communication seems quiet natural.

Some of you know about my deep passion for dream work. One of the greatest blessings from dream journaling and analysis has been clarity and affirmation for my spiritual purpose. For some of you, your spiritual gift includes your dreams! Some people have prophetic dreams or receive messages in dreams that they’re meant to share with others. All dreamers, though, can use their dreams as part of their spiritual practice to better understand themselves and their other gifts.

When it comes to the less “paranormal” forms of spiritual gifts, we often call them “talents.” They include things like writing, teaching, empathy and counseling, art and music, dance, and even humor. All are expressions of a soul’s giftedness and can be used to help fulfill one’s destiny or purpose in this lifetime.

Another way to consider how your talents and gifts are spiritual is when they feel like an expression of your soul. So this doesn’t include just any skill we are good at. We can learn lots of skills, yet our spiritual gifts are the ones that fill your cup even as you pour from it and back into the activity. They’re the talents and gifts that make you smile when you do them or just think about them. And very often they involve some sort of exchange with others! Writing or playing your music for an audience is one easy example.

In this way, we also distinguish spiritual gifts from what societal conventions deem worthy. Just because you don’t get accepted into Juilliard doesn’t mean dancing or acting isn’t your spiritual gift. Just because you’re not on the NYT bestseller list doesn’t mean writing isn’t your spiritual gift. And if teaching is your spiritual gift, that doesn’t mean you have to become a certified teacher and teach at a school. It doesn’t have to be your actual job or your primary source of income, if you don’t want it to be. Your spiritual gifts never need to be validated by gatekeepers to be genuine and valuable to you and others.

One way you’ll clock these kinds of talents as spiritual gifts is a deep calling toward them again and again from the well of authentic creativity within your soul.

I’ve been feeling compelled to have this conversation because to know, understand, and lean into your gifts is a form of profound power. And my people too often feel powerless. We need us to know what we can do. We need us to be grounded and steadfast in channeling our true power.

Sadly, not everyone who knows their power will do the right thing with it or use it in a loving way, in a way that reflects their divinity and the dignity of all. This is why I feel urgency in making sure my people, who are intentionally trying to have a positive contribution to our communities, are fully awake to their power and their gifts and how to leverage their gifts in support of their soul’s chosen purpose.

So here’s just one place to start discerning what your spiritual gifts are if you don’t already know them:

If you want a personal deep dive soul session on this, check out what’s brewing! I’m definitely returning to this conversation in future newsletter editions. In the meantime, I’d love to hear how you’re thinking about your gifts right now!

Come, fill your cup to The Brim and fulfill your destiny with this soulful and strategic coaching that enriches your quality of life, nurtures your relationship with yourself, and reflects your sacred connection to the Divine. In this cozy coaching space, you partner with me to formulate your unique flavor of wellbeing and fulfillment. This is for you who’ve already achieved various forms of success and endured many hardships and heartbreaks. Through it all, you remain hopeful and courageous. You intend to continue growing, believing in your capacity for transformation. Get details and register here!

This week’s Open Mic featured poet is another Louisiana native, Yusef Komunyakaa, whose writing has inspired me for many years. This is a brief video clip of Komunyakaa his improvised reflection on how crafting poetry changes him. You can also read samples of his work here.