Early in 2012, I decided to come completely out of my Spiritual Closet and immerse myself in the Spiritual Community. In that time, I opened a brick-and-mortar learning center, inviting many seekers, spiritual teachers and lost souls into my center and into my experience.
You might call it a crash course. I call it an invaluable experience. By going out and finding out what other people and philosophies are about, I began to find out even more about want I am – and am not – about and at the end of the day, what feels most authentic. This series of articles shares my experience so that you may learn, laugh and/or reflect along the way…
One of the first things people ask in the spiritual community is: “What are your gifts?”
Initially, I would say, ” I don’t know” or “I don’t have gifts like you do.”
There is a certain mystique and sexiness that psychics, healers, channelers like to create around what they do. It’s good for business.
Once I began to read Tarot at psychic fairs for practice, I realized that “sitters” were often anxiously waiting to hear that they too were a talented psychic or healer, especially in past lives. More than any other message in the room, I constantly heard readers tell their sitter that they were indeed “very gifted” and that they should be doing this work too.
Now at first I reasoned to myself that people attracted to fairs and similar events were commonly people who have psychic or energetic experiences in their every day lives. Often people attend fairs looking for answers that to questions they are afraid to ask their friends and family. I rationalized to myself that it would make sense that a good percentage of these folks probably were uniquely talented as a psychic or a healer.
But here’s the thing. Just once, I wanted to hear, “Wow! You should really be an accountant!” or any other vocation or ability.
I know for a fact that many of the readers in my examples here are talented intuitives, psychics and mediums. But I also know that it’s common to read what’s in people’s energy fields – in other words, what’s on their minds. As I mentioned, the vast majority of people wanting a reading, want to hear that they, too, are special. They look to readers as people with a special gift given to them straight from God. It’s perceived as some magical ability. The common belief is that readers know what others can’t know and that surely means that God must favor them somehow. People want to be near that, to connect to that – to be that, too.
What I want people to understand is that we all have these abilities to one degree or another – both at the psychic and energetic levels. We see it everyday. People just don’t always call it that. We just say someone has great instincts or that they are soothing to be around – not that they’re an intuitive or a talented healer.
So I ask – Why, in the spiritual community, do we assume that intuition or energy work is more profound than any other skill?
The ability to develop intuition or energy healing is something we all possess. We’ve just lost touch, in most cases, with this knowledge and that it’s valuable in our lives today.
I see it no differently than other skills. Take music. A select few of us are Mozarts, but most are not. However, we can all learn to play an instrument. Some learn quickly, others need to be more dedicated. For everyone, a regular practice schedule to keep our skills up is important. The same thing applies with mathematics. Some understand it immediately while others can be brought to tears. But eventually, we can all learn how to do math, at some level.
This goes along with my other pet peeve – monetizing of these skills.
When we, in the spiritual community, see ourselves as more “virtuous” for our skills, then we deserve the criticism when people say, “You know, God wouldn’t charge for healing. It’s a gift. You shouldn’t charge those of us who need your help.”
Spiritual “gifts” are of no more value – or less – than any other ability we all bring to the world. Every single one of us. If this is your gift – terrific! However, if you are a gifted organizer, scrapbooker, or if you can put up a tent or sing karaoke better than anyone you know – then good for you!
So just as my plumber charges me for his time and experience, I charge my clients. I see no difference. When I read for someone or coach them, I use a variety of skills I have learned along the way and that I continue to invest in. I charge for my time, but more importantly for the results my clients receive.
It’s about being authentic and living into the full potential of our gifts. It’s about developing ourselves and our unique abilities so that we can serve others with those gifts, whatever they may be.
Lesson #3: We are all gifted. We are all Special. And so is everyone else.
We are not separate. We all come from the same Source. It’s not about our talents. It’s about what we do with them.