When most westerners think about gifts, the exchange of material goods, is the image that is most familiar. Little time and attention, however, is given to finding and embracing the gift — the real reason we are born in this world. As a result most of us cannot make sense of the various events in our life. Drawing on Dagara wisdom, this talk brings to light how everyone has a personal gift that is vital to the well being of the individual and the community.
Sobonfu Somé is a respected author, lecturer, activist and one of the foremost voices in African spirituality. She travels the world on a healing mission, sharing the rich spiritual life and culture of her native land Burkina Faso, West Africa. She is the founder of Wisdom Spring, Inc. an organization dedicated to the preservation, the sharing of indigenous wisdom and organizes fundraisers for wells, schools and health project in Africa. She is the author of The Spirit of Intimacy, Welcoming Spirit Home, Falling Out of Grace and the CDS set Women’s Wisdom from the Heart of Africa. Sobonfu’s message about the importance of spirit, community, and ritual in our lives rings with an intuitive power and truth that author Alice Walker has said “can help us put together so many things that our modern Western world has broken.”