By Misa Hopkins

Have you gone through most of your life with your deepest, most precious spiritual gifts never being recognized?

I felt that way for years, until I went to my first Native ceremonies. There it was actually considered normal to:

•    Be empathic
•    Have visions
•    Hear sacred sounds
•    See, hear and relate to spirits
•    Be telepathic
•    Astral project
•    Understand the medicine plants
•    Know the power of crystals
•    Have profound relationships with real and spirit animals
•    Know that the elements respond to your thoughts
•    Be psychic
•    And more.

Basically, it was cool to be “weird” and I loved it. Quickly I discovered that what I thought was a need to be recognized as special was actually a need to acknowledge the special gifts that lived within me.

It felt great to be in an environment where my heightened state of awareness was considered normal because it meant I was connected to my spiritual gifts, which connected me to the Mystery—and after all, isn’t that how we are supposed to live?

Best of all, in that environment, my spiritual gifts became even stronger as I better recognized and nurtured them.

Just being around other people in their heightened awareness stimulated my own gifts. Dreaming at night in an awakened community opened my inner senses to still another level of realization.

I left ceremonies feeling as though I had experienced who I really was. I knew I had tasted what life is like when we all live in respect for our unique and wonderful spiritual awarenesses.

For seventeen years, I have been privileged to facilitate a week of Native ceremonies for people of all cultures that want to discover what it means to live with and use your spiritual gifts in an atmosphere where you are honored and respected for doing so.

Every year I hear about how affirming it is to get to be who you really are—not in a boastful and arrogant way, where you feel like you are trying to get people around you to see who you really are—but in a humble and genuine way, where you are actually seen and loved for your precious and true nature.

Creating a place where spiritual gifts are recognized and honored is one of the great experiences of attending SpiritQuest. Being seen and heard for who you truly are is wonderfully healing and life-inspiring.

If you are ready to be seen and heard in a sacred environment that honors your true nature, while honoring the true nature within everyone, you just might be ready for SpiritQuest.