Spiritual Gifts: Benefits, Examples, & Explanation

By Tchiki Davis, MA., PhD.
Discover the spiritual gifts that might emerge on your spiritual journey and how to avoid common challenges that go along with spiritual gifts.
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The spiritual growth journey is different for every single one of us. But spiritual gifts are actually quite common among those who have reached the middle stage of their spiritual growth journey.  Sharing these gifts with others can help them, you, and society in many ways. However, it's also quite common for spiritual gifts to contribute to spiritual narcissism—believing we know more than others or are special in some way. 
And unfortunately, this just prolongs our suffering. So in this article, we’ll discuss what spiritual gifts are, how they develop, and how to avoid common pitfalls associated with spiritual gifts.
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What Are Spiritual Gifts? (A Definition)​

Spiritual gifts are thought to be supernatural, extraordinary powers given to individuals. These gifts are not meant to be for self-aggrandizement but for the good of others. Thus, these gifts involve prosocial skills such as serving, teaching, and giving. However, there is not one complete list of spiritual gifts as what is defined as a spiritual gift will depend on who you ask (Wikipedia, n.d.). 
​
In this article, we focus on a broad definition of spiritual gifts based on a broad definition of spirituality. That is, spirituality will be defined as a connection with God, Self, community, and environment (Ai, 2000). Aspects of spirituality may also include connection to our higher self, the unconscious, God, the Universe, the All, Angels, Spirit Guides, other entities (Richardson, 2018), or any other personal representations of spirituality we might hold. As such, spiritual gifts may be seen in the context of whatever spiritual beliefs one holds.

Causes of Spiritual Gifts​

Theories suggest that we progress along multiple quasi-independent lines of personal growth, and the later stages of these lines are what we tend to refer to as spiritual growth or spirituality (Wilber, 2001). It is at these later stages of growth that spiritual gifts may begin to emerge. 

Within each line, spiritual growth occurs in waves, stages, or spirals (Wilber, 2001). For example, at later stages in our personal growth, we might experience a wave of growth that leads to spiritual awakening and enables us to gain access to a spiritual gift. That wave might retract back and then forward again helping us to further develop our spiritual gifts. Like a rising tide, each time a wave crashes on our shore, we extend our spiritual gifts further and further. 

Indeed, spiritual teacher Mary Mueller Shutan has found that among her clients, spiritual gifts develop over time as a person undergoes a spiritual awakening. It is common for people to start with a dominant spiritual gift or ability that grows over time and then kick-starts another ability, and then these gifts further blossom. We also have blackout periods in which these spiritual gifts disappear for a period of time (Shutan, 2015). These real-world accounts provide further evidence of the wave-like nature of spiritual growth and the discovery of spiritual gifts.

What Stops Spiritual Gifts From Emerging

Although spiritual evolution is our natural process (Tolle, 2006) and we are always growing spiritually, we often resist self-growth. We may refuse to see beyond our own limiting beliefs, shame others for taking a different spiritual path than our own, or find ourselves repeating the same patterns without changing our perspectives (Shutan, 2024). In these cases, we still grow spiritually, albeit at a slower pace than we might otherwise have. Due to this slow pace, we may not reach the point where our spiritual gifts emerge.

Spiritual Gifts Chart

If we progress along multiple lines of growth (Wilber, 2001), and spiritual gifts emerge at the later stages of growth, different spiritual gifts likely emerge along different lines of growth. Let's look at seven major lines of growth and explore which spiritual gifts may emerge if we progress far enough down these lines.

Seven key lines are below: 
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  1. Stability. Spiritual gifts may include manifestation or clairtangency. 
  2. Emotion. Spiritual gifts may include empathy or clairsentience. 
  3. Self. Spiritual gifts may include purpose, meaning, or fulfillment through helping others in some way. 
  4. Other. Spiritual gifts may include healing, love, compassion, or forgiveness.
  5. Self-Other. Spiritual gifts may include clairaudience, musical ability, or sound healing. 
  6. Mind. Spiritual gifts may include imagination, intuition, precognition, or claircognizance.
  7. ​Soul. Spiritual gifts may include clairvoyance, retrocognition, or remote viewing (Targ, 2012).

Examples of Spiritual Gifts

Some suggest that there may be many, many spiritual gifts (Wikipedia, n.d.). Here are some more examples:
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  • Encouraging others
  • Caring for others
  • Sharing spiritual knowledge
  • Healing
  • Psychic abilities
  • Creating miracles
  • Helping the sick and poor
  • Generosity

Spiritual Gifts List​

Depending on your perspective, anything could be viewed as a spiritual gift. For example, from the perspective of radical forgiveness, the “harms” that others do to us are actually for us. If we view ourselves as instruments of the one consciousness—or even as souls—we start to see that everything that happens is for our ultimate evolution and benefit. Radical acceptance is similar in that we accept what is—it’s not like we can change what is—and so everything that happens to us or through us is a gift.

Benefits of Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts can offer many benefits—for ourselves and others. Usually, they involve access to information, healing, or deeper layers of reality. These gifts can be shared with others to help them, grow, heal, or understand their world in new ways. As long as we direct our spiritual gifts towards helping others, they can be quite beneficial. However, we do need to be careful not to get too caught up in them—for example, by bragging, charging exorbitant fees, or using them to manipulate or control others. Unfortunately, these negative experiences may also be side effects of the discovery of spiritual gifts.

Can Spiritual Gifts Become Traps?

If our ultimate goal is enlightenment or self-realization, spiritual gifts can actually become traps. Given the spiritual journey involves moving beyond the mind-identity (or ego), spiritual gifts are almost like a test—the universe is questioning whether we can still be humble, kind, and centered even when we can do things that others can not. 

For most of us, it’s difficult not to begin believing we are special or important when we can see, hear, or know things that give us “privileged” information. This is why so much of the spiritual community is focused on developing psychic powers, channeling, astral travel, and other spiritual gifts. Unfortunately, in these situations, true spiritual growth gets stalled because the ego has co-opted our spiritual journey to make itself feel better, bigger, and more important than everyone else. 

From my perspective, the recent documentary, Love Has Won, demonstrates the trap of spiritual gifts. The main character, Mother God, began her spiritual awakening but her ego hijacked her journey and began claiming itself to be the one God. This is just one example, of many, where a spiritual gift can fuel the ego (versus taming it), and completely derail spiritual growth.

​Avoiding Spiritual Gift Traps

Unfortunately, spiritual narcissism is extremely common. True spirituality is not about being special. In fact, many believe that spiritual gifts are the inevitable next step in human evolution. Similarly, spiritual gifts tend to emerge as one reaches the advanced stages of any of the lines of personal growth—even if they have nothing to do with spirituality. In other words, we are all capable of experiencing spiritual gifts, and therefore, we are all equal. 

When watching or listening to those who've reached enlightenment, it’s clear that spiritual gifts are of no importance to them. They often experience these gifts, but rarely talk about them and don't consider them to be important in any way. For example, the spiritual leader Ramana Maharshi considers these gifts to be an obstacle to self-realization and of no importance whatsoever (Maharshi, 1985). 

So if you develop a spiritual gift, be careful not to let it become part of your identity. And try to remember that we are all one, and therefore, not above anyone else.

Spiritual Gifts Tests

It may feel like we go through tests related to spiritual gifts. For example, it’s not uncommon for people to have near-death experiences which result in spiritual gifts. Others may experience a Dark Night of The Soul or illness before their spiritual gifts emerge. Still others may develop spiritual gifts only to lose them—an experience that can seem like a test or cruel joke. Whether or not these are true tests—or simply movements of the one consciousness—depends on our point of view.

Challenges of Spiritual Gifts

In addition to ego challenges and the tests that go along with spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts may also be challenging in the context of our “normal” world. Many people avoid their gifts and choose not to discuss them over fear of ridicule or rejection. Indeed, one who talks to spirits or has psychic abilities may be viewed as a pariah by their family, friends, and community. So deciding whether or not we want to “come out of the spiritual closet” can be a tough decision. ​

Quotes on Spiritual Gifts

Here are a few quotes related to spiritual gifts.
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  • “Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for your benefit.” - Rick Warren
  • “Spirituality is not an extraterrestrial thing – it is the essence of human existence.” - Sadhguru
  • “It is the Higher Power which does everything, and the man is only a tool. If he accepts that position, he is free from troubles; otherwise, he courts them.” - Ramana Maharshi
  • “Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind.” - Ramana Maharshi
  • “Remember that spiritual awakening is a process. It’s an eternal spiral, a dancing mandala, a path with no end. There is no limit to how much you can grow, transform, and embody the Divinity carried within you. - Aletheia Luna
  • “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.” - Eckhart Tolle
  • “Pride takes many forms, but spiritual pride is the most grievous. To become proud of spiritual gifts or leadership position is to forget that all we have is from God, all the position we occupy is God's appointment.” - J. Oswald Sanders
  • “Confusion is a gift from God. Those times when you feel most desperate for a solution, sit. Wait. The information will become clear. The confusion is there to guide you. Seek detachment and become the producer of your life.” - RZA

Articles Related to Spiritual Gifts​

​Want to learn more? Check out these articles:

Books Related to Spiritual Gifts​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

Final Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts​

The spiritual growth journey is different for every single one of us. Some of us may develop spiritual gifts in the middle of this journey. While these gifts can be shared with others and help them in many ways, we still need to be careful not to let spiritual gifts inflate our egos. It's quite easy and common for us to get caught up in spiritual narcissism—believing we know more than others or are special in some way. And unfortunately, this just prolongs our suffering. So as you encounter (or experience) spiritual gifts, just try to remember they are a natural part of our evolution, and they are not any more valuable than anything else.

Spiritual Disclaimer​

Although meaningful knowledge can be found through spiritual insight, we humans filter this knowledge through our own mental frameworks. Even the best, most advanced spiritual teachers have access only to reflections of Truth, which still maintain some distortions. My truth may not equal your truth which may not equal another person’s truth. So, always check in with your Self or intuition to verify whether the spiritual information you receive resonates with your Truth.

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