Unwrapping your spiritual gifts of insight is one of the main goals of the spiritual journey. These are treasures, the legacy of our ancestors, and they lay dormant in our DNA, waiting for us to open them. Learn how to open these latent talents.
Language is a wonderful tool. It may have varying degrees of accuracy, but it still enables us to communicate, making it one of our most valuable tools. Some topics, like spirituality, are ripe for misuse of language. Religions work hard to assimilate words and terms into their systems to bolster their legitimacy so they can gain and retain customers.
Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts
Religions use the term gifts of the spirit, but what they are really referring to are skills that can be learned or philosophical arguments. It is important to find out what these terms really mean. Are they talking about the genuine spiritual treasures of the soul, or are they talking about religious dogma or practical skills? Western religion (1) uses the terms spiritual and gifts in relation to skills, abilities, and talents that can be learned.
Some say latent talents are also gifts. We disagree. Again, Western religion uses the term talents to describe skills that can be learned, like dancing or singing. It’s the same way talents are like any analytical skill. Mathematics is an analytical skill set that can be learned, but some people have natural abilities that enable them to learn quickly while others struggle.
What is My Soul Path, My Spiritual Treasures?
The virtues of the spirit are the most valuable assets of the soul because they are the highest expressions of human nature. Nine virtues, spiritual gifts of insight, correspond to each personality type.
The virtues of the spirit are gratitude, joyfulness, happiness, love, thankfulness, blissfulness, appreciation, mindfulness, and serenity.
Western religion refers to these gifts; however, it is not really talking about the nine virtues of the spirit. It uses these terms as a bait-and-switch tactic and substitutes the study of religious doctrine or texts, which has nothing to do with these gifts.
These treasures of our Soul are the legacy of our ancestors, a culmination of connections stretching back to the beginning. They are blessings earned by our ancestors. We inherit them through our DNA, acquiring their use through this inheritance. You don’t need to join a religion to help you find or unlock these spiritual treasures because they are already yours.
Your soul path is unique because you have different gifts, which is why we need to learn how to walk our own path. Unwrapping your spiritual gifts of insight is an inward journey of self-discovery.
We recognize these gifts when we see them in action. For instance, the ability to facilitate healing is a talent. Feeling the emotions of other people or places is the gift of the empath. Many sages and spiritual teachers tell us discovering our spiritual path is the purpose of life, and opening these gifts makes it possible.
The Shamanic Journey is one of the earliest tools for exploring awareness. It’s a process we use to reveal our gifts and talents. An excellent resource to learn this process is the book Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide by Sandra Ingerman (2).
The Spiritual Gifts of Insight
Now, let’s go back to talk about skills. You can increase access to these latent skills, abilities, and talents in the same way you can increase athletic ability. It’s like playing basketball. Some people have a natural talent for this game. Take Michael Jordan, for instance. You can practice for years and never be able to do the things Mr. Jordan can do. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun playing basketball, even if we can’t pass, shoot, and dunk like Michael Jordan. It means your spiritual gifts of insight differ from his.
These unique core gifts come in a variety, like a rainbow of different colors. Your personality and instincts are only a part of the equation. We also have the gifts passed from our ancestors.
Start by asking yourself, what is my soul path? What are my latent gifts and abilities? Some people have just a few gifts, and some have several. You may not be aware of these spiritual treasures until you awaken them. Discovering the doorways to higher states of consciousness is a part of the growth process. There are many levels of consciousness available to us if we seek them.
Instead of looking for a list of potential gifts you might or might not have, learn to awaken to your own! It is easier than you think. Just remember, be gentle with yourself. Progress is hard to predict. We each learn at different rates. Be patient and gentle with yourself. Be persistent and keep using processes like the Shamanic Journey.
Consciousness exploration involves serious inner work. These processes will illuminate any roadblocks to your growth. Your discoveries will be part of the legacy you leave to others.
You can use the shamanic journey or other tools to walk your own path and explore consciousness without joining a religion. All you need to do is follow the process. These tools come from Eastern traditions. Their focus is on exploring consciousness and developing human potential.
Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gifts
Discovering the gifts of your spirit is easier than you think. All you need to do is learn to listen to your intuition and your heart. Here is a simple way to get started. When you do this, you are asking, what is my soul path?
1) Quiet the Mind And Guide Awareness Inward
First, allow yourself a few moments to sit in silence. Consciously bring your awareness to your body. Sit comfortably. You don’t need to sit cross-legged. Your spine should be upright but not strained.
Allow the head to float above your shoulders, then direct awareness to your posture and breathing. If you can not observe the breath without changing it, then just observe your posture. With a little practice, you will soon be able to observe the breath without interfering.
When thoughts interrupt, gently return your attention to your posture and breathe. It will quiet the mind. Practice this until you feel your mind quiet down. In this way, you learn how to guide awareness gently inward.
The first tool we recommend for everyone is a spiritual journal. This powerful tool helps you document your progress and identify roadblocks. It also helps you spot trends in your thinking and dreams. Discovering your spiritual treasures is a form of investigation. So, writing about your thoughts and feelings after you meditate is one way to hear what your soul says.
2) Creative Visualization
The last step is to leverage the power of creative visualization—this is a way to use our imagination. Make a vivid picture in your mind. Again, this is the rebranding of the Shamanic journey. It’s a method that has been used for eons for discovering your spiritual path.
Feel the air (source) coming into you through your nostrils and filling your lungs. Visualize bringing in cleansing air and source energies. Now visualize it going down the spine and gather them in the sacral area. When you breathe out, visualize negative thoughts and energy going out. When you breathe in, visualize positive energy coming in. Regulate your breath—breathe in slowly for seven seconds. Hold your breath in for two or three seconds, and then exhale slowly through your lips.
As you breathe, visualize energy uncoiling up your spine. Give yourself permission to unlock the treasures of the Soul which reside within. Learn to trust your intuition. After a few minutes, you will begin to feel silence and stillness.
The last step is to visualize unlocking the treasures of your Soul. Ask your ancestors to help you if you are inclined to call upon your spirit guides or guardian angels. Ask them for focus, direction, discipline, counsel, and love. Allow the blessings to do this until the only thing you notice is your life force energy coming back into sync with life. You may also feel you are more in sync with the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
For more intensity, use this technique along with a shamanic drum track. The drum rhythm will give you added focus.
Summing up the Process
Some people find this process works almost immediately. However, it may take several times over several weeks for many people. Everyone is different, so don’t force it. The process and the timetable for unlocking your spiritual gifts are different for everyone.
Walking your Soul Path is what Joseph Campbell calls The Hero’s Journey. (3) Creating your own path does not mean you need to walk alone. Find others who are walking a path like yours. Learn from them, help them teach others, and accept their help.
We are all on our path, going at our own pace. Some people get their gifts all at once, others over time. They are available when we are ready to receive them. Awakening is like a butterfly transformation. It takes time.
Common Roadblocks
First, it is common for thoughts and emotions to interrupt this process. It may also be difficult to observe your breathing without interrupting it at first. Both will become easier with time and practice. Don’t force things. If your mind is hyperactive or tired, wait for a better time to practice. Over time, your mind, body, and Soul will come to enjoy this time of synchronization.
Second, our cultural narrative resists change. We receive programming from several social systems that create boundaries of thinking. Programming from the cultural narrative is so powerful it will install bias and prejudices. So, it’s essential to question your cultural narrative. It’s where we get most of the beliefs that make up our worldview.
Solutions
After you do this practice, stay present with your body and breath. It will help you keep in contact with this primal energy and knowledge. Unwrapping your spiritual gifts continues after you end this meditative process. Some synchronicity may trigger an awareness of a doorway that you didn’t realize existed. Again, everyone is different. Be present enough to trust your energies.
Vibrations
You will feel the high vibrations of your gifts, just like being in the presence of a friend. Many find clarity of thoughts and images within the mind’s eye directly after the practice. If you felt nothing, that’s telling you something. If it doesn’t resonate, then perhaps you aren’t in a place to open this skill, ability, or talent. Most people have a spiritual awareness of people and places. Trust in this wisdom.
What Are The Spiritual Technologies?
These processes are a collection of proven methods for unwrapping your spiritual gifts. We call them spiritual technologies. They help us expand awareness and unlock these treasures. We divide these tools into four major categories:
— Analytical Tools
— Meditation
— Awareness Tools and Techniques
— Natural Healing Modalities
In Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with studying philosophy or developing a list of attributes, but these are different from unlocking our spiritual treasures and latent skills, abilities, and talents.
Don’t be afraid to ask, what is my soul path, and how do I open these spiritual treasures and virtues? Discovering your spiritual gifts will open a whole new perspective.
Use as many spiritual technologies as you can and find out what treasures you have hidden away in your DNA. We’d like to hear about your experience with these processes.
References
(1) Religions by population or group.
(2) Shamanic Journeying: A Beginner’s Guide by Sandra Ingerman.
(3) Joseph Campbell & Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.