Opening Your Spiritual Gifts: From Burden to Blessing

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Right now, the world is shifting in ways that require every single one of us to step into our gifts. The time for hiding or doubting what we’re capable of is over. The world desperately needs more of us to open our gifts, to trust them, and to use discernment as we navigate the fear-driven narratives surrounding us. Discernment empowers us to make decisions from a place of connection, love, and inner wisdom, helping move our collective energy from fear into power.

I didn’t always know my gifts were gifts. As a child, I thought something was wrong with me because I could see things others didn’t. I would lay in bed at night, seeing a Native American man sitting at the foot of my bed, and feel afraid. But looking back now, I know he wasn’t there to hurt me—he was a guide, a protector. Back then, I didn’t understand, and many times when we sense or experience things that others don’t, we question our sanity.

It wasn’t just what I saw, though—it was what I felt. There were times when I was overwhelmed by the feelings and visions I picked up from the people around me. I would find myself emotionally drained, sometimes crying for reasons I didn’t understand, feeling heavy and burdened by what I was sensing. I would see flashes in my mind of what I thought were movies but later learned were other people’s stories. It was a lot to process, especially when I had no framework for understanding these experiences.

On top of that, I would spontaneously astral travel. It sounds fascinating, but it left me feeling stuck and lost, not knowing how to find my way back to my body. I had never heard of any of the things I was experiencing, and I genuinely thought I was losing my mind.

One of my earliest memories is sleepwalking as a child—sometimes out of the house—and being plagued by nightmares that, in retrospect, I believe were tied to sensing energy and trauma from others. These experiences stayed with me. As an adult, when I dream about women or children in danger, I see it as a signal from the spirit world to offer my prayers, meditations, or shamanic journey to help shift the energy in their favor. I may never know if my efforts make a tangible difference, but faith-based healing is about trusting in the unseen and knowing that our prayers can create ripples of change.

As I began to find my teachers and discover resources that helped me understand my gifts, I started to feel safer. I decided to open up to my husband, hoping he could be a source of support, but he wasn’t open to the idea. He thought I had lost my sanity, and that left me feeling even more alone. It took tremendous courage to leave that environment and move forward in faith, trusting that I would find others who believed in me and understood what I was experiencing.

There’s a reason why people who can see beyond the ordinary senses are often misunderstood or diagnosed with conditions that make them feel even more isolated. But there’s also a growing body of research and study around extrasensory perception, validating what so many of us experience. My own fascination with my brain and its abilities led me to have it mapped and studied, revealing that my brain is seeing when my eyes are not. It also shows my ability to shift states of consciousness at will, something many others are discovering about themselves too.

Imagine it’s Christmas morning or your birthday, and there’s a beautifully wrapped gift sitting in front of you. You tear into the wrapping, excited and curious, only to find something inside that you don’t fully understand. It feels special but also a little overwhelming. That’s what it can feel like to have extrasensory abilities. We call them “gifts” because they are—but sometimes they can feel more like a burden than a blessing.

The term "gifts" comes from the idea that these abilities are rare and special, divinely given to help guide or protect. But what happens when a gift feels too heavy to carry? When the things you see or sense become more challenging to manage than empowering? That’s the other side of having these abilities, one that’s often misunderstood or overlooked.

Growing up, I didn’t realize that what I had were gifts. Seeing things others couldn’t, like the Native American man at the foot of my bed, felt more frightening than special. Many people with extrasensory abilities face similar challenges. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by them, and without guidance, they can feel more like something to bear than something to celebrate. But here’s what I’ve learned over the years: these gifts, though they come with responsibility, also offer incredible power and potential for healing, both for ourselves and the world around us.

You, too, have these gifts. They may feel complex or even challenging at times, but they hold incredible power and value, especially now. Here are a few gifts you already possess, even if you haven’t fully unwrapped them yet:

You have gifts that are designed to help you, right now:

1. The Gift of Asking for Help
This is one of the most powerful gifts you already possess—your ability to ask for divine assistance. Think of it as your direct line to the universe, your guides, or whatever higher power you connect with. When you feel lost, overwhelmed, or unsure, this gift is here to remind you that you don’t have to navigate life alone. To embrace this gift, take a moment each day to ask for guidance. Whether in prayer, meditation, or simply speaking aloud, ask for support in specific areas of your life. The act of asking opens the door for divine energy to come in and help. Trust that your request is heard and that the answers will come, even if they don’t look how you expect.

2. The Gift of Discernment
Discernment is like your internal compass, helping you see through illusions and navigate toward truth. In times when fear and confusion are rampant, this gift becomes essential in guiding you through life’s complexities. To embrace this gift, start by paying attention to your gut reactions—when something doesn’t feel right, trust that instinct. You can strengthen discernment through practices like journaling, where you ask yourself, “What is true here?” or “What feels aligned with my highest good?” Over time, you’ll learn to trust this inner guidance, and it will help protect you from dishonesty, manipulation, and fear-based decisions.

3. The Gift of Feeling
Your intuition is always communicating through your body. This is the gift of feeling—a sensory guide that helps you navigate the world by tuning in to your emotions and physical sensations. Embrace this gift by learning to listen to your body. When you feel tense, anxious, or unsettled, instead of ignoring it, ask yourself what your body is trying to tell you. Is there something you need to move away from? Or is there an action you’re being called to take? Grounding practices like breathwork, walking barefoot in nature, or mindful movement can also help you reconnect with this gift, making it easier to trust your body’s wisdom.

4. The Gift of Seeing
You don’t have to be a shaman or a psychic to use the gift of seeing. This is the ability to see beyond the surface of things, to envision possibilities, and to connect with what lies beyond the physical world. To embrace this gift, practice using your imagination. Close your eyes and ask yourself what potential outcomes you can envision for a situation in your life. Visualize these outcomes with as much detail as possible. This gift also shows up in dreams, flashes of insight, or spontaneous visions, so pay attention to these moments. The more you trust what you see, the clearer your inner vision will become. And remember, seeing doesn’t always mean predicting the future—it can also mean seeing the solutions that are already available to you right now.

While these gifts can feel like a lot to handle at times, they are not a burden to carry alone. They are tools for transformation—yours and the world’s. Over the past decade in my work as a shaman, I’ve seen the beauty of what happens when people start to trust their gifts. My favorite way to explore them is by asking, “What if I could?” and then giving myself permission to try.

Whether you believe you possess these gifts or not, you do. I’ve seen countless miracles unfold when people begin to embrace their gifts and open up to the possibilities.

If you’re feeling unsure, if you’re doubting your gifts but ready to explore them, I invite you to join my next Emerging Shaman training this week. For those of you who are already working in a professional capacity and want to integrate your spiritual gifts into your practice, the Integrative Shaman training will help you do just that.

I can’t wait to open your gifts with you and witness the magic that follows.

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