gifts of the spirit

what are gifts of the spirit

Gifts are as varied as there are people. For example, some people have the gift of voice, when they sing people want to listen. The sound recalls the soul’s longing in the hearer, it reminds him of ‘something’ in himself that he knows comes from the Origin, and which he wants to reconnect to. Others have the gift of dance, of writing, of speaking. Oratory is a beautiful gift, which sadly seems to have been besmirched by modern cynicism. Music is more subtle still, and can evoke the transcendental.

These gifts are not owned by us, for we hold them not in isolation, they are participated in by all those we encounter. What use is a singer if she doesn’t have an audience to appreciate her talents? The artist who paints only for himself will not fully enjoy his gift. He sees the outcome and hopefully it gives him some satisfaction, but all he can do is compare it with the original vision in his mind. It is when others see his work that the original idea and genius is spread, it reaches other minds, and is enfolded back to him in a whole new way. You might call this feedback, maybe the artist calls it fame or recognition (the ego or self always likes the bounce we get back from success), but it’s really the sharing of all minds in the original idea, the idea which brought this something new into existence.

Let me illustrate. When we stand in front of Michelangelo’s David we each get an impression of what it means for us. To me it represents uncertain youth, the hero with all his complexities. A tension seems to exist between the mind looking, through eyes, towards something greater than itself, and the body which is very physical, very present, sensual even. Then there’s the disproportionate hands, reminding us that the power that is always present to help us is so much bigger than our own fragility.

Each person coming in contact with another’s gift will leave with part of that gift herself. In time, in a whole new way, it may become her gift. The viewer will bring her impressions, reactions to it. In short she will bring her own life history and everything in her own consciousness to it. And this consciousness (which is really part of the greater consciousness) is a reaching out and being touched by the consciousness that created the thing in the first place. This is how all gifts of the spirit breathe among us.

So we could say the David is created again every time a new person looks at it.

There is a gap between words where the real meaning comes through. It can be found in the cracks in the world, the spaces between sounds. Until we hear that we’re not really listening. It is in this encounterment (I write about this phenomenon in God part 3) that the spark happens. I suppose we could call this encounterment communication, but communication suggests reciprocity, and that’s not what I’m getting at. That suggests conversation, a giving and taking, a sharing on a lower lever. Encounterment is not conversation, it is what happens in the spaces between the sounds.

Many worlds – many gifts
The gifts of the spirit appear in many guises. Who hasn’t known a brilliant teacher who opened up a whole new world of knowledge in them? Teaching is a very sacred gift. It touches and transforms so many lives. As is healing. The amount of healing the world needs was probably never greater than at this moment. But I’m never down about what’s happening in the world today. Because the beautiful thing is the deeper the problem gets the more healers emerge to help. More and more healers are appearing on the planet now. And they are appearing in direct response to the crisis that’s happening. Nurses and doctors work tireless every day for very long hours to help people to heal. Also there are so many new alternative medical practices coming on the scene now, again in response to the current situation.

But healing isn’t confined to only some. Nor is teaching for that matter. Everyone on the planet can heal, in some way, (it may be simply sitting down and listening to someone who is going through a bad patch right now. Do not underestimate the power that can do.) Also it’s been proven that everyone can do Reiki. It is true that you can heal your life (to quote the wonderful Louise L. Hay). You can begin today. You can also teach yourself so many new things. And you can heal and teach others. These gifts are not confined to the few. The gift awakens in one, and then by this awakening, or by the person sharing it, the gift is spread to many.

In the past spirituality was seen as coming down from above. It was conceived as an authority that arose from one central figure. You were very much defined by this authority, and what talents you had were seen as genetically endowed. It was like you should almost consider yourself lucky to have them, while at the same time you had a duty to do something with them. But gifts of the spirit are not a charge, they are a blessing. If it was easy to adopt to this cosmic view then you became a happy acolyte of some deity, if not, you became a rebel. The New Age Movement tried to reverse this. They put the person at the center. The problem with this though is that we try to approach it from the ‘skin encapsulated ego’ (to borrow Peter Russell’s most apt phrase) and that’s just too difficult for most people, if not impossible.

We need something greater than ourselves to reach ourselves. If we try to do it by ourselves we get lost. It’s like asking the mind to fix the mind. It can’t. The problem cannot be addressed from the thought system that created it (to paraphrase Einstein). This is, sadly, where the new spiritual teaching goes awry. Now I’m not saying swing back to the old way, for the danger here lies in putting that ‘something greater’ on a pedestal, in short, turning it into a god, and then you separate yourself from it. The only reason God can’t instantaneously transform your life is because you see him as God!!

Gifts of the spirit - now over to you!

So what are your gifts? Take some time after reading this article and reflect on what you have created or brought to the world that has benefited all. It doesn’t have to be a David, but whatever it is it’s uniquely yours. The gifts of the spirit are very subtle and run very deep. Your own are the universe’s way of expressing love through you.

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