4 Truths to Spirituality | Messages for the Empath Soul Podcast
There is an overdose of information about spirituality online and it's to feel overwhelmed, confused and even uncertain about what's "true".
This isn't about giving you another list of things you need to know about spirituality. Instead, these are some of the truths I've learned in my own journey of deciphering and interpreting the boatload of information I've gathered.
Why am I sharing these 4 truths to spirituality with you?
To offer clarity amidst the uncertainty you feel.
To expand your perspective and to remind you to tune inwards, awakening your own soul truths.
To bring calmness in understanding, rather than feeding into the information overload.
Press play to listen to 4 truths that I've learned about spirituality and take a moment to see if they resonate with you.
The 13th episode is called 4 Truths to Spirituality.
Listen here, or scroll down to read more on what this episode is all about!
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Back to the blog - 4 Truths to Spirituality
Here I will share the transcript of the podcast episode, and I highly encourage you to give it a listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
INTRO
Hello hello hello. Welcome back to another episode of Messages for the Empath Soul. Today I want to share some truths to spirituality, or at least how I see spirituality. Spirituality can be a very personal thing, as well as a collective experience and I am still learning and figuring this out. Sometimes my perspective changes, sometimes my thoughts and opinions change and I think that is okay. This is what it means to live open minded, allowing yourself to shift and evolve and change overtime. So today I am just wanting to share some truths that I think are really important for everyone to understand, to know or even to just be open minded towards. Whether or not they resonate with you, that is not the point, I'm not saying these because they have to be your truths as well. I am sharing these because they are truths that I have discovered through my own experience and my own connection to spirituality and I think they can open your mind, shift your perspective, maybe even help you, guide you, support you on your journey. Before we jump into the episode I want to take a moment here and introduce this space.
This is your soul journey and I am here channeling messages from the Universe to help guide and support you.
This is Messages for the Empath Soul.
If you’re new here, I’m Sydney a ⅖ generator, with a deep intuitive connection. My mission is to empower as many spiritual empaths in this community, creating a ripple effect of compassion and peace that is felt around the world.
Today we are here to talk about 4 truths to spirituality. I have spent years trying to understand spirituality myself through my own exploration, along with listening to other spiritual mentors, teachers and guides explaining from their perception of what spirituality is. I received an email from a listener recently and it got me thinking about what spirituality is and how I can share my perception with you in hopes that it helps guide you in discovering your own perception of spirituality.
This is part of the email that I received from the listener. This is what my listener said - “my approach to this subject [spirituality] is due to discussions with a friend and the fact that I did not understand anything of what he was saying, because it seemed to me that this spirituality is an ascetic kind of existence that I cannot afford to strive for, and the term SPIRITUAL, SPIRIT, BEING SPIRITUAL, has so many connotations today that you can almost get lost in the numerous approaches. However, I must admit, in my heart I think that each person has an inner force in which they value those pure concepts that govern their life and to which it is good to be as close as possible. but most of the time, we are not aware of them and, even less do we know that there is a practice of keeping the spirit in shape”
That is the email I received from a listener and this person, like I said earlier, got me to thinking about what my perception of spirituality is and how I can share that with you. By pondering on this email, it got me thinking about 4 truths that I’ve discovered in spirituality. I want to share these 4 truths with you today in hopes that they offer support, they offer guidance, and they offer clarity in your own journey. As with everything that I share, I want you to take what resonates and then leave the rest. If there is something that does not connect with you then maybe it’s not a message that was meant for you, maybe it was a message that was meant for somebody else. Those pieces of what I share that do hit home for you, and do connect with you, I want you to take them, I want you to write them down, I want you to explore how it feels for you. Even the pieces that I share that trigger you or don’t connect with you, I want you to explore that as well because that brings us to the first truth.
1 - SPIRITUALITY IS THE DISCOVERY OF SELF AND YOUR CONNECTION TO A GREATER PRESENCE
I don’t want you to take someone’s word for the ultimate truth. It’s like I was just saying, if something I share triggers you that doesn’t mean that you have to take that as your truth, but maybe you can explore it. You can explore why you feel triggered by it, maybe you can explore where the resistance is coming from. Spirituality is the discovery of self, so you have to be willing to uncover your own truth. You have to be willing to uncover what lies within, I feel like so many aspects of our life we are living for other people, especially for those of you who resonate with the term people pleaser. Being a people pleaser, or being a recovering people pleaser in my life, I constantly catch myself still stuck in that cycle of “how does that person perceive me? What do they think of me?”. I’ve started to think more recently, I actually was journaling on this the other day because I caught myself in that cycle of “what does that person think of me? How do they perceive me?” and I realized that’s actually not what I want to be focusing on. I actually want to be focusing on how I’m portraying myself. Who am I showing up as? How am I sharing myself with the world?
This is the reminder that spirituality is the discovery of self, it’s coming back inwards. You are the only one that can live as you in this lifetime, and no one will be able to understand who you are to the depths that you will be able to understand who you are. That is what spirituality is, it asks you to slow down, it asks you to tune inwards. It asks you to not just take the fear you feel as your truth, it asks you to say “what’s on the other side of that fear? What’s the desire that is calling you forwards” Just as you experience fear in this lifetime you also have access to inner wisdom, to inner desires. This comes through your own self discovery. This is what spirituality means to me, the discovery of self. The more I learn about myself the more I can live authentically true to who I am, so I am living from my spirit, not from the conditioned beliefs that I was programmed to carry. Not from the pressures that society has placed on me. Not from the box that the world has put me in and told me I should live from. Not from the masks that I have worn to try and keep other people comfortable. No, no, no, I am here to live as the most authentic version of me.
Who is she? How does she want to live? What are her gifts and talents? What are her weaknesses? What are her weak spots? Where are her triggers and her wounds? Because the more that I learn about her, me, the more that I can support myself, the more I can guide myself from a place of love, and the more I can share true compassion with the world around me, which is what I desire. Spirituality is the discovery of self, you are here to learn lessons specific to you in this lifetime. You are here to achieve goals and dreams specific to you in this lifetime. That is spirituality to me, the discovery of self.
Along with it being the discovery of self, it’s also about remembering that you are connected to an energy source that is greater than you. You’re not just all on your own. You came from a source of energy that is greater than this human version of you, you are connected to something larger than you. You get to decide what you call that, this greater presence, whether you call it God, Goddess, Higher Power, Source, Universe. Whatever you want to call it, the idea is not that it has control over who you are, this greater presence is not controlling who you are, it is an energy source, rooted in love, that is here to support you through all things. Guide you to your greater purpose. Often in this human existence we get stuck in this feeling of loneliness, feeling like we don’t belong, feeling like we have to do everything on our own, hyper-independence. Trust me I know what that feels like, that hyper-independence, this is something I’ve been working through myself.
Yet, in spirituality we have this ability to connect to a greater presence, and when we connect to that greater presence it helps us to shift our energetic state of being. When we are feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, alone, and we desire to feel empowered, inspired, motivated. How do I shift that energetic vibration that I am holding onto? How do I shift to something that feels better? In my connection to this presence that is greater than me, I ask for support, I ask for guidance, I ask for clarity. Maybe for you it is about connecting to this higher version of you, this future version of you, this better version of you, your favourite self. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about not making mistakes, it’s not about having it all figured out. It’s about through the unknown, how can you comfort yourself? How can you guide yourself from a compassionate state of being? How can you offer yourself nurturing support?
It is an energy source rooted in love that is supporting you through all things, guiding you to your greater purpose. That is the first truth to spirituality that I have learned, spirituality is about the discovery of self and it is your connection to a greater presence.
2 - BEING SPIRITUAL IS NOT IGNORING YOUR HUMAN EXPERIENCE
The second truth to spirituality that I have learned is being spiritual is not ignoring your human experience. Toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing have become common practices by many people. Have you ever heard someone say “you should find the good” after you just moved through something traumatic? “You should find the good in that” or something along those lines “you should think positive”. I think there is a time and place to shift our train of thoughts from something that is negative to something that is positive, but you cannot just “find the good” in order to move forward. You have to feel your emotions. You have to process them in order to learn from the experience. You have to look into the negative thought patterns. You have to be willing to look at what they are rooted in, where is the wound, where is the hurt that I am carrying subconsciously that is triggering these negative thought patterns. Where is the pain that resides within me?
You evolve your soul by living this human experience. That means exploring the spectrum of emotions, overcoming challenges, hitting rock bottom in order to find strength, courage and resilience. Being spiritual, living this spiritual lifestyle, spirituality is not ignoring your human experience. Toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing have no place. If somebody is telling you to ignore the negativity within, what you are doing is you are ignoring part of you that is carrying some sort of hurt or pain. By continuing to ignore that it is embedding deeper into your subconscious and it will continue to control how you show up in the world.
Awareness and acceptance are ways that we can help to heal ourselves through the difficult emotions that we are experiencing. It can help us to shift the unsupportive beliefs or thought patterns that we are carrying. Awareness and acceptance. “I am aware that I am feeling heavy right now, and I accept the fact that this heaviness within me is trying to tell me that I am not worthy. I offer myself love and compassion and I’m here for me”. That compared to “no no no, you’re worthy, forget about it, forget those thoughts, you’re worthy, you’re totally worthy” there is so much resistance in that. It’s like a competition, you are trying to shove the negativity out of the way, and you’re not actually allowing it to have a moment. Because that’s really what it is, the negative thought or the harsh emotion just wants to be seen. You just want to be seen. That part within you just wants to feel loved.
Being spiritual is not ignoring your human experience. In your human experience you evolve your soul, because you are exploring the spectrum of emotions, overcoming challenges, learning lessons. This is the 2nd truth that I have learned, being spiritual is not ignoring your human experience.
3 - THERE ARE NO SET RULES TO LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFESTYLE
The third truth that I have learned about spirituality, there are no set rules to living a spiritual lifestyle. The email I shared earlier that my listener sent me, they said “spirituality is an ascetic kind of existence that I cannot afford to strive for” and to be honest I had no idea what that word, ascetic meant, so I actually had to look it up. I looked it up on Google and it said “characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence”. I do not believe this is necessary to a spiritual lifestyle.
What I've learned is that everyone’s version of spirituality is different and that is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. What spirituality means to me or the spiritual lifestyle that I cultivate because it helps me to experience peace, joy, it helps me to create a life of my dreams, it’s not going to look exactly like yours and it’s not meant to. Remember, spirituality is the discovery of self, you have to find what feels good to you. You have to find what feels aligned for you. You have to find the tools, the practices, the strategies that help you to understand yourself, that help you to live in a way that is aligned in the lifestyle that you want to create and cultivate.
Spirituality is not an existence where you have to practice severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence. No. It’s not about being 100% in all of the time, we are human, we make mistakes, we falter, we forget, that is part of the human experience. Sometimes when we are feeling really good it’s easy to have that self-discipline. Sometimes when we are really struggling we fall back into old patterns and triggers. I’m not saying let yourself fall back into old triggers and never pull yourself out of them. What I am saying is that is normal. At least it’s my normal. I fall back into old patterns often and then I become aware, and I catch myself and I accept “oh shoot I’ve fallen back into an old pattern that is not healthy”. Then I remember that I am just human, and it’s okay, and what can I do to offer myself support and compassion to move forward from a place that feels good.
As long as you are choosing to embody love, to better understand yourself, to connect to a higher power and to continue to learn, you get to do it all in a way that feels aligned and expansive for you. If pulling tarot cards doesn’t feel aligned, then don’t do it. If one version of meditating isn’t working then find a different version. Severe self-discipline and abstinence can be limiting and restrictive. Make mistakes, learn from them. Find a habit that feels good and practice it. Be willing to try new things. Be open to changing your ways. Find what feels good for you. Stretch your comfort zone. There are no set rules to living a spiritual lifestyle, you are making up your own rules as you go. The key is to listen to other people, to learn their perspective, see how it resonates with you, come back inwards, reflect on it, see if it’s something that aligns with your truths. All of the different practices and tools and strategies that I share in my membership and in my 1:1 mentoring, I don’t share them to say “this is the way, you must do this”. I share them to say “these are different things that I’ve learned, and it took me years to learn them. So I want to try and shorten the timeline down for you, by teaching them to you. You can figure out which ones feel right for you and which ones are aligned for you.” I always come back to tie it into your life, tie it into how it feels for you. Let’s practice it in your experience. Because you are living your life, I’m not living your life and you’re not living my life. So we have to find a way that works for you, and it’s not about severe self-discipline and abstention. I don’t think that that is healthy. I think it can be very limiting and restrictive.
That is the third truth that I have learned when it comes to spirituality, there are no set rules to living a spiritual lifestyle.
4 - SPIRITUALITY ENCOURAGES YOU TO SEE FROM A HIGHER PERSPECTIVE BY UPROOTING LIMITING BELIEFS AND PERCEPTIONS
The fourth truth that I have learned is, spirituality encourages you to see from a higher perspective by uprooting limiting beliefs and perceptions.
The journey you are on is about becoming aware of what perspectives you hold onto that are limiting your life experience. For instance, one of the things that I have worked hard on is my relationship to money. This is a fascinating topic that I could talk a lot about because ultimately money is just a resource. It is an energetic resource that is here to support us throughout the lives we are creating. We as humans created the concept of money, money was not created before us. We created it as a form to exchange something for the goods and services that we need not only to survive in life, but also to thrive in life.
Our energetic relationship to money is what matters, and yet many many many people around the world, a past version of me included, and I can still see it happening within me from time to time. Many of us are holding a perspective, a belief or a perception, around money that is extremely limiting. It holds us back from being able to receive more money. It causes strain and stress on our lives. It causes us, it forces us to live in a very misaligned, unhealthy way. Spirituality encourages us to see from a higher perspective, so through my journey of healing over these last few years I have begun to look deeper into “how do I look at money? What does money mean to me? What are my subconscious thought patterns around money? How can I connect to a presence that is greater than me, the Universe, source, creator, how can I connect to that energy to help me see from a higher perspective?”
Whether you were taught those beliefs or you learned them from your own experiences, by living a spiritual lifestyle you are encouraged to see from a higher perspective. Your original viewpoint may be clouded by your own biases, pain points or triggers. You are living your life with these patterns, and you keep repeating the same life lesson over and over and over again. It comes to a point where you realize “I’m sick and tired of this. Why do I keep experiencing this? Why is this experience continuing to happen?”. Most likely you are holding onto a belief or perception tied to that experience that limits you and holds you back.
Through self discovery, through slowing down, connecting to a presence greater than you, through reflection and healing, you start to understand “what are my biases, what are my pain points, when am I triggered? How can I start to shift my perspective? How can I start to see from a more limitless perspective?” This is something, coming back to money because that’s the example I’ve already brought up, now that I’ve worked really hard on my thought patterns around money and my energetic relationship with money. I see people on a day to day basis, I see people around me making comments about money that immediately make me say “oh no wonder in society we hold such a negative relationship with money”. People so commonly speak about lack of money, fear around money. It’s such an easy thing to complain about how costs are going up. I’m not saying we need to spiritually by-pass this, there are obviously things that need to change. What I am saying is that the energy we embody around something affects our beliefs and perceptions about life in general.
Spirituality encourages you to see from a higher perspective by uprooting those limiting beliefs and perceptions.
Those are four truths I have learned about spirituality.
Spirituality is the discovery of self and your connection to a greater presence.
Being spiritual is not ignoring your human experience.
There are no set rules to living a spiritual lifestyle.
Spirituality encourages you to see from a higher perspective by uprooting limiting beliefs and perceptions.
As always, everything I just shared means nothing if you can’t tie it to your own life and your own experience. That brings me to my favourite part of every episode.
SELF REFLECTION CREATES SOUL CONNECTION
Self reflection is a powerful tool that helps you to better understand yourself and strengthen your connection with the Universe. Which is where you build trust and find a way to surrender more easily.
Use these journal prompts to reflect on what spirituality means to you. Grab your pen and paper, write these down and take some time to reflect on them.
1 - What is your perspective of a Higher Power and how does it feel when you connect with this energy?
When I say higher power I mean greater source, creator, god, universe, whatever you want to use.
2 - What type of spiritual practices feel good to you? What new practices do you want to try?
3 - What is a limiting thought or belief you’ve carried that you want to shift?
4 - What is something you’ve learned about yourself recently?
These four journal prompts are going to help you in your understanding of spirituality. They are going to help you tie in what I’ve shared today so you can discover what it means to you. I really hope that today’s episode has brought some new perspectives to you, or maybe some perspectives you’ve already thought about in a new light to help reinforce your truths around spirituality.
GOODBYE
As I close out this episode I want you to remember, your life is happening right now. There is not some future moment you need to rush forward to. Be here, take a deep breath, know that you are meant to be in this moment.
Life will always bring more lessons.
Your soul will always guide you to more healing.
Your mind will always require support to see from a bigger perspective.
You will always desire to be seen, heard and understood.
Be here now for yourself. In time you will feel the call to share more light and compassion with the world.
I’m Sydney, signing off and saying thank you, thank you, thank you.
Take your spiritual growth journey to the NEXT LEVEL and start creating real, positive changes in your life now.
You want to live more authentically.
You want to feel more fulfilled.
You are tired of feeling like you’re in the wrong place, working towards the wrong things, or surrounded by people who don’t get you.
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Until next time, sending love & light on your spiritual journey,
Sydney Smith
Spiritual Mentor
Founder of Adventuring with Poseidon Wellness
