A message channeled by Rev. Jeff Munnis on October 6, 2024, about the importance of embracing our gifts and how we live and move in multiple realms/dimensions.

Transcript 

It is sometimes hard to sit alone with our gifts—the things that we have to offer to other people or to the world that come through us, that share a part of us and a part of our essence. We have a hard time accepting them, even in those times when we recognize them because we can sometimes feel that we didn’t ask for these gifts. It’s almost as if they’ve been given to us without our permission. And when we sit alone with these gifts, it’s easy for us to feel doubt or to feel like they’re not enough or that they’re off the mark in some way or that the people that receive our gift aren’t aware of it or don’t appreciate it. Like many parts of us, there is more than one layer of being that we present to the world, and so we have to understand that our gift goes through all of these layers before it makes it out into the world. There’s a layer of appearances, and then that layer of ourselves that hears and sees with a limited vision or a limited ability to hear. It’s hard to hear it reflected back to us. And then there are those who are completely ignorant of what it means to even have a gift or the purpose that comes with a gift, and so, not only is our gift not appreciated, but sometimes it has no value in the eyes of those for whom it is intended.

In spite of all of these difficulties, the biggest concern for us is simply to remember that we are that gift, that that gift begins with our presence, so to know that we are there in that moment,  in that space, either alone or with someone else, our presence there is a gift, not just to the space around us, but to ourselves, part of the gift of our creation.

When we’re alone with our gift, we have the ability to grow into this gift. We have the ability to enhance our gift through our awareness of who we are and what we have to give to the world, but also to ourselves.

Our gifts can also come along with another attribute, filling out the impact of that gift, where somebody may have the ability to sing, but because of their awareness of their gift of singing, because of their own placement of value on their singing, their gift can be enhanced, and not just entertain, but inspire or even bring awareness to those that hear it.

The smallest gifts are sometimes the hardest to value. And just as you’ve heard me say before, sometimes the small things are the big things. And so, our ability to hold someone’s hand or touch them with tenderness can make a big difference in their sense of being and their sense of self-worth. That’s why the tenderness between two people who share love can be so powerful.

And then there’s the gift of time that we spend with each other. And in those moments when we have that same awareness of that gift—the awareness of time, the awareness of presence—that in itself can be transformative. So, it is important for us to understand that wherever we are and whatever we are doing, our gift begins with our presence. Our gift begins with our awareness. And then there is the transmission of the gift.

Some people have a nice match between their talent, their awareness of their gift and its expression. For some people, their life is harder in the sense that they might have an awareness of the gift, they might have the talent, but they lack the ability to express the gift. For someone else, they may have all three of these things but find themselves surrounded by no one that values the gift they have. Part of what we have to understand is that knowing all of these things, knowing our presence, knowing our talent or our gift, knowing our ability to express it are all that’s required. Anything that is a consequence of our gifts in the world, whether we’re paid for it or not paid for it, whether it’s recognized or not recognized, those things are not of true concern to us. They may help us feel good, they may help us understand our impact or see our impact more visibly, but the increase or the harvest or the outcome, however you want to describe it, belongs to God. So, what is important for everyone that’s here, in this moment, in this space that we share of sacred space, is to know that we are the gift, to know that we have the talent or the ability, to know that we can express it, and to find satisfaction in that, especially when we know that it’s connected to our source, our source of life and love and of God. So, this is first on the agenda today. And it is important that we sit for just a short time, resting in the knowledge that we have this gift, with gratitude for the gift.

We live in multiple dimensions, meaning that other worlds are present both within us and around us. Some of us experience those realms—actually all of us experience those realms, we just may not understand them to be evidence of those worlds. There’s great meaning in understanding this in our life in this world. The primary meaning that all of us will face at some point of time is the transition known as death. If we carry an awareness of ourselves from one world to the next or even the knowledge that we are functioning as human beings in more than one world, soon we can understand that one of our primary capacities, and one of our areas of growth, is how to understand this transition between realms—how we go in and how we come out of anything makes a difference. So that when we enter into meditation or an altered state of consciousness, it’s important how we go in—the kind of protection that we ask for, the kind of help that we hope to provide by entering in. Then there is sitting in that presence of that other realm—what’s to be gained by that or what we hear or see or feel from that realm, and then coming out—reentering this world, reentering with our eyes open, with our ability to see and hear as it is enhanced or grown by that experience of another realm.

Make no mistake that you experience what I have just described, though you may not recognize that experience quite so easily. Our most common way of doing this is to enter into sleep. And it is such a natural process, that we don’t equate that transition into sleep and that transition out of sleep as anything special, at least not at first in our lives because it is part of our life. It’s like the water that we swim in. We wake up, we live during the day, and we go to sleep to rest. But as our awareness increases, we become more aware of that portion of our lives. And then the same thing happens with meditation. And in the beginning, our meditation may not feel like it goes very deep, but there is a point of transition where we have an awareness or a witness of ourselves in special way, and we recognize the difference between that feeling and the feeling of what I would call our ordinary or daily activities. It’s a special feeling.

The same kind of thing happens—it’s more subtle, but none-the-less just as true—that an actor or an entertainer, a singer, performer enters into in the presence of other people, is another example. And it’s often discussed spiritually, because in some ways, we can associate life with being on a particular kind of stage where we act and do things according to a role that we adopt. And then when we leave the stage or are out of view, we’re different.

Only you are going to know when you have entered in one of those other realms, and you may be no more spiritually aware in those other realms than you are in this realm. That would be one way of saying it. But you also can be just as spiritually aware in those other realms as you are in your deepest, most spiritual state in any realm. So, which one is it that you find your deepest spiritual connection? For most of us, that deepest spiritual connection will bear the most fruit when we’re in the realm in which our gift and our purpose are all aligned and we feel the power and the strength of our gift. So just as we began this reading, that knowledge of our gift becomes so important because the next step is, where does it express itself in the most powerful and aligned way in our lives? Who are the people that are around us when this happens? What are the needs in the room—our needs and the needs of the people around us—when this happens? Who are our friends and what are the connections like between us when this happens?

So, there is much that comes with our awareness of our gift, and it’s like a ladder that we climb—each rung on that ladder being another level of consciousness, another level of awareness that shows us a different view of the world, a different perspective of our own life, and the life of those people around us.

And one final word on this gift is that it’s the most tender part of us, meaning it’s easily hurt, easily wounded. It’s easily affected by others. We can be defensive. And it is through those experiences that we also gain strength. Those experiences are not experiences pointing us in a different direction, especially when we are aware of our gift—they’re simply experiences on the path that make us stronger, more aware, better able to give and serve.

(K.W. - What if you struggle with pinpointing exactly what your gift is? Are there signs or signals or process there?)

Sometimes when we have trouble pinpointing our gift, it’s actually the most obvious thing to your friends or even to the unfriendly people in your family. They might recognize your gifts in certain ways that you don’t, and they may not value them. So, it’s a very tricky process, and that’s why something like a spiritual practice is helpful because when you enter into an altered state, or a different world, if you want to call it that, you’re withdrawing your projections from the world. You’re withdrawing your interpretation of the world in such a way that you’re trying to allow the truth to come through to you. It’s not always easy, but it’s a continuation of that process, a consistency in applying yourself to that. And it’s alright to do things that you like and love. Those are also signs of the things that inspire you, and that you show a care for. And, once you’ve reached a certain point with your gift, there is going to be the recognition of a love that’s associated with that gift, so that you love what you’re doing, you love your effect on other people when you are expressing your gift, and they connect with you in such a way that you feel that connection and that alignment. So those are the things that you would look for. Everybody at some point feels like, “Oh, I should know my gift. It should be obvious to me.” Or “What’s wrong with me that I can’t see it?” But there are parts of ourselves that take a large portion of our lifetime to emerge. And there’s nothing wrong with the amount of time that it takes to recognize our gift. You might feel the need to say, “Well, I wish I knew my gift when I was 20 so I could spend the next 50 years working on my gift.” But there’s no more value to you as a human being and to your soul in this lifetime whether you find that gift when you’re 20 or whether you find it just before the end of your life in this world. The point is that you recognize it, and as I just said, the fact that you can know your gift, the presence of the gift, express it, that’s all that’s required—not the results, not the outcome. All those other things belong to God in a manner that we can’t always see. And there’s no harm in asking others, “What do you think is my gift?” And when you ask that question, if you can ask in a place and a time where there’s the patience to just sit and absorb the answer, if it’s right, you’ll know it’s right. You’ll feel it. Hopefully you can ask that question of someone who shares some resonance with you where there is complete honesty and willingness to be open. And the openness isn’t just in their expression, but also in your ability to receive.

(M.C. – Wow. Thank you, Jeff. I never know what’s going to happen here, but I certainly didn’t expect you to be talking about gifts. And thank you for your comment that sometimes it takes a lifetime to recognize. I really do believe things happen as they’re supposed to. I know that my gift is my voice, but I have not always been comfortable with that. My mother, first of all, always wanted to be a singer, and if she said it once, she said it a thousand times how she wanted to be a singer, completely negating mine. And my family, of course, like you said, my brother who passed was a big fan, but the rest don’t ever ask. And people have been asking me lately, “Are you singing anywhere?” No. And I haven’t for a couple of years, and I don’t know if I have lost my voice. But because of what you’ve been saying, I’m going to head back down to Saint ? I had offered to give them a donation every month if they let me use their sanctuary to sing. And nobody’s there that can hear me. It’s not about being heard, it’s about embodying this gift, this God-given gift, and feeling the power of it. I think that my favorite places to sing are in church, but it hasn’t happened. Well, it has happened for me over the years, but I’ve sabotaged it. I’ve been in a choir, and they asked me to solo in a couple of places. And then I tell myself, well you don’t read music. I just find ways to minimize it. And I’m just so appreciative of what you’ve spoken here because I feel like I’ve been given permission to explore further and really continue to try to have compassion and embrace what this gift is without caring about what anyone else thinks. It’s taken me a long time. It’s taken me decades to get to that point. So, I guess I don’t have any specific questions, but if you have any comments, I’m certainly open. I guess I just wanted to thank you.)

I want to hear you sing.

(M.C. – I don’t know if I can. I have to.)

Well, you don’t have to now, but I just feel like that, to use a musical analogy, struck a chord in me too. When you were saying that it just felt so natural and so aligned. I just want to acknowledge that. That feeling in me that says, “Yeah, I have the ability to hear your gift.” And that’s special for people.

(M.C. – That made me think that one way I think maybe for people to recognize their gift is to know that when they’re in the midst of it, for me, when I’m in the midst of singing in the high ranges, I am in heaven. I am lifted in a Celestial way. That’s God’s presence. And that’s how I know.)

And, that’s the other world that we enter.

(M.C. – Oh, interesting. Someone else recently introduced me to Bonni McCliss. I don’t know if you’ve heard about her? But she’s someone who as a child saw lights and heard spirits, to the point they, when she was 12 decided that she had schizophrenia, which she didn’t. She absolutely didn’t. She had a gift, as you do. Now she’s just sharing her light. Sharing her light, as you are, as you both are. Thank you. That idea that that’s the other realm. I love that. Thank you. Another gift.)

(S.G. – Our other Mary, has also the gift of voice, and besides singing in choir, she has started singing with the Threshold Choir. A friend of mine started that a long time ago, that sings to people around the world at bedside when they’re either passing to the other world or with any kind of illness. And it’s been incredibly moving for her. That might be something else to look into if it resonates.)

(M.C. - Thank you. I thought once about singing to preemies, but they wanted me to get vaccinated with so many things. Thank you.)

(S.G. - They’re all over the world. There’s a chapter here in the city.)