Have you considered your answer to the question, “What does your spiritual life mean to you?” Recently, someone asked me to do this. I thought it was a great exercise and wanted to share my answer with you. If you’ve not thought about this recently, I encourage you to write out your answer. It will make you think a bit deeper about your response.
My spiritual life is my connection to God, to Spirit, to something bigger than me. It is my pathway to peace. It helps ground and center me. For a long time, I was waiting for it all to make perfect sense. I wanted hard, concrete answers to allow me to feel truly connected.
I was raised Catholic. As I became an adult, I did not feel the pull to continue attending Sunday mass, so I stopped. I tried to reconnect multiple times because I wanted to feel that spiritual connection, but I just couldn’t. I can recall having conversations with friends who were connected to their church and their faith in religion. I wanted that, but there was a disconnect; something in me knew it was not my spiritual path. I felt like there were too many unanswered questions and too many conflicting messages, which caused me to lack faith in the church.
Was that it? Was it faith that I was missing? Faith in something bigger than me? Faith that everything will work out? Faith that there’s a reason for why things happen or don’t happen? Faith that there is a predetermined path in life for me?
It wasn’t until I was broken, stuck, and lost that I finally discovered what my spiritual life meant to me. After experiencing over six years of trauma and heartbreak over not being able to conceive a child to full term, I needed help. I needed faith. I needed to believe that I was going to be okay.
Intuitive healing opened me up. It was amazing. I couldn’t fully describe how it was happening or what was happening. All I knew was that I felt lighter, freer, and a bit more hopeful each time I experienced a session.
I had also tried multiple types of traditional talk therapy, but they didn’t help me at the time. Was it because I did not find the “right” therapist for me? I don’t know. However, what I did know was that my intuitive healing sessions were allowing my body, mind, and soul to release the hurt, pain, disappointment, shame, guilt, sadness, grief, anger, etc., that I had been holding on to for all of those years.
Wait, is this what it feels like to have faith? Faith that I will be okay? Faith that there is something bigger than me, guiding me, supporting me? Faith that everything can and will work out? It felt good. It felt like I could stop holding my breath and finally exhale.
I believe that my spiritual life is always evolving, changing, and shifting as I do. I am okay with that. I love learning and digging into personal growth and development. Although, at the core, it is all about returning to love. Love for myself, love for my life, love for everything and everyone. I had to let go of the idea that it needed to make perfect sense. I also no longer need hard, concrete answers to feel connected (that doesn’t mean that sometimes I would still like them).
To me – being on my spiritual path means:
- I have faith.
- I am connected to something bigger than me – God, Spirit.
- I am being supported and guided.
- I have a path in life, and I embrace it.
- I am safe.
- Everything will work out for the best.
- I love myself exactly how and where I am.
- I trust myself, my intuition, my inner knowing.
And so much more. . .
I consider my spiritual life a practice, not a destination. It doesn’t mean I no longer struggle, get upset, or have difficult times. It means I connect with God (Spirit, Angels, the Divine, Source) to help lead the way – to guide me. It means I am continuously surrendering, letting go of the past, outcomes, comparisons, expectations, and perfectionism. It means I am aware of my connection. I embrace it. I listen and learn from it. It means that I will remember to return to love.
“Faith, it does not make things easy, it makes them possible.” Luke 1:37