10 Powerful Traits Only The Most Spiritually Savvy People Possess
Spiritually savvy people show up with presence, heart, and wisdom.
Kelcey Shotit | Pexels People with spiritual wisdom are stepping out more and more as leaders with heart, mind, soul, vision, pizzazz, and a desire to meet the world’s problems with eyes wide open. There’s something about a person whose spiritual intelligence is fine-tuned to the needs of the people and the cause they serve.
So, how do we gauge spiritual intelligence when we don’t yet have the language for it? How do we identify spiritual savviness in ourselves and others? How do we look beyond appearances and really see what's going on?
Here are 10 powerful traits only the most spiritually savvy people possess:
1. You feel everything and care deeply
Increased sensitivity and compassion go hand-in-hand with expanded spiritual awareness. The interconnectedness of life becomes obvious, and so too the knowing that one’s actions matter in the great web of existence.
One of the challenges faced by many spiritually-centered people is feeling too sensitive or overwhelmed by the world’s woes. Spiritual savviness invites us to develop a healthy and vibrant core self so we can respond appropriately while maintaining a soft and open heart.
Personal development coach Pamela Aloia said, "Some people are super-aware of themselves, which can lead to a higher level of sensitivity. These folks tend to be more aware of their feelings, thoughts, and emotions than the average person and often are inclined to apply that self-knowledge and awareness to what other people might think, do, and feel in comparison."
2. You laugh at the absurdity of it all
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The Universe (or whatever you want to call that infinite force of grand mystery and creation) has a wicked sense of humor. Anyone committed to a path of growth and exploration will soon discover the paradoxical nature of human life.
For example, how can everything matter and nothing matter all at once? How is it that we can be infinite and finite simultaneously? At some point, one surrenders to the head-spinning paradoxes and chooses to laugh.
3. You love like it's an adventure
Increased spiritual awareness often comes with an expanded experience and understanding of love. In many spiritually transformative experiences, love in some form is often present, whether it’s a love that transcends any one person or an intensely deepened personal love.
Spiritually savvy people often become a vehicle or vessel of love, embracing life as an adventure whereby love is infused in all that one does and in all encounters with others.
4. You listen openly
Spiritually savvy folks listen beyond the words. They are attuned to the whole person speaking, what’s not said, body language, vibes, and the overall resonance of what a person is communicating.
Listening takes place with more than the ears — it is full of presence on all levels, body, mind, heart, and spirit. It’s the ability to hear a person in their own words and through their perspective.
"They treat everyone like enlightened beings," wellness coach Jeffrey Siegel described the great listener. "A beautiful thing occurs when you treat others as enlightened beings. You begin to hold the space for them to bring forth their highest potential. This is often apparent in conversations with kids. When you treat children with the intelligence and maturity of an adult, engage in conversation with them, they often rise to the occasion."
5. You give and share generously
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Spirit operates beyond and through boundaries. Spiritual experiences are known to often dissolve boundaries. As such, what we call "my family" can easily grow from blood relations and a nuclear unit to one’s community, humanity, or even all of life itself.
Sharing generously becomes natural in a paradigm where everyone and everything are interconnected. "Perceiving and acting are reflected in people's feelings of connection to others," stated a 2009 study of "social connection through joint action and interpersonal coordination".
6. You never stop learning
Spiritually savvy folks understand that life and planet Earth are wonderful classrooms. Every single experience is a potential opportunity for growth and learning. It won’t always be pleasant, but there’s always a takeaway, especially from life’s most challenging situations.
As one ripens spiritually, wisdom is a natural consequence. In other words, they become more Yoda-like. American Philosopher William O. Stephens describes it as, "Yoda initially appears to be a jester, but shares with the Stoic wise man the virtues of timely action, patience, commitment, seriousness, calmness, peacefulness, caution, benevolence, joyful mirth, passivity, and wisdom."
7. You create with intention
One of the sweet symptoms of spiritually transformative experiences can be an increase in the creative flow.
As one develops spiritually, there will often be a yearning to serve others in meaningful ways now and in generations to come. That means all that one creates is done so consciously, with clear intention, and for the greater good.
For some, they may feel they are a vessel in full service to a greater force, for the greater good.
8. You live authentically
Awakening spiritually is like getting naked. Far beyond shedding the clothes, it’s about getting comfortable with vulnerability, openness, simplicity, imperfection, and acceptance of oneself on all levels.
It means genuinely being OK with who you are, how you are, what you are, and where you are, and where you’ve been. It’s about embracing the natural beauty that is you and just doing you in the world, whatever that is.
9. You lead gracefully
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Walking an authentic path in life means you’ll inevitably lead in some direction. This is by the simple virtue that when you’re being true to you, you shine your light. And when that happens, people naturally gather.
Spiritually savvy folks understand the responsibility and privilege of leadership and work in partnership with Grace to lead and be led.
10. You follow the energy, not just the plan
Waking up spiritually alters one’s sense of time. Boundaries on time-space reality loosen and expand. Being spiritually savvy invites us to stay connected to the eternal through the present, ever-unfolding moment.
Although it’s perfectly possible to make plans and work within structures, there is also an aliveness accessible in the present moment that will often lead the way. As many spiritually savvy folks will know, there’s the "plan" with a little "p" (the personal plan) and then there’s the "Plan" with a big "P" that we don’t have control over.
Allowing space to live spontaneously means responding appropriately to the plan and the Plan as needed.
Given the crises of the environment, politics, religion, poverty, inequity, mental well-being, the list goes on, our world desperately needs spirituality and savvy leaders who can harness it more than ever.
The good news is we currently live in a global spiritual candy store. Never have we had such easy access to tools for our spiritual growth and transformation. As such, more and more people are reporting spiritually transformative experiences. This is terribly exciting as we open the door to the possibility of a more elevated humanity.
But, it’s also slightly terrifying in that there’s currently a lack of grounded support systems in place to truly and compassionately deal with the complexities of awakening experiences. These days, if you have visions and hear voices, you may be given a swift diagnosis and medicalized, whereas in another time and place, this may have been seen as a gift, as explained by The Hearing Voices Network.
We must remember, too, that not all spiritual experiences lead to a more awakened way of being. Just because someone experiences a moment in time where they touch upon a greater version of themselves or an expanded appreciation for others, it doesn’t mean the changes are lasting or permanent.
Joseph Campbell, who gave us the wonderful phrase, "Follow your bliss", later realized the potential danger of his words and, towards the end of his life, said that perhaps it should have been "Follow your blisters."
Does any of this resonate? Are you one of the spiritually savvy stepping forward to play your role in this time of urgency on the planet? I suspect so. Welcome aboard. You’re in good company. The world needs you.
Dr. Nicole Gruel is an author, speaker, and transformational coach who descends from a long line of samurai. She has spent over two decades actively exploring human potential.
