I’ve been there. Searching for the first steps to “spirituality” – trying to move the needle, not knowing where to go or who to seek out for a teacher, unable to tap into communications with Spirit Guides but desperately wanting that relationship, and feeling alone, unworthy, and incapable of getting there. All while surrounded by those who looked “enlightened.” There seemed to be no stepping stone for me to get there, and I wanted to get there fast!

After decades on my spiritual path, I often look back and remember when my first shaman (recommended to me by my doctor for toxically high stress levels) mentioned that I would be living a very deep spiritual adult life, perhaps even teaching and healing others. I was supported by the wise warrior Athena, my spirit animal was the unicorn, and I was to start talking to Spirit (God/Universe/Source.)

Sitting on the healing table and listening to her report, the information was almost like a ping-pong ball bouncing off my head instead of sinking in. I was immediately engulfed in a sense of dizzying unworthiness. My thoughts ricocheted from “Who is in charge here, trusting me to be a healer or teacher? How do I get there? What do I need to learn or practice? Who is going to teach me? How can I even access Spirit? There’s no way I’m as good as (insert spiritual influencer here). All this mental chaos was swimming in my mind’s ocean of “YES! I feel this truth in my bones!” But where do I begin?

Let’s begin here. Because here is where I am, and here is where you are, in all our perfection.

Some Hard Truths About Spirituality

Let’s get these out of the way, first and foremost.  

• Nobody will ordain you into the world of spirituality unless God or an archangel literally appears and hands you an invitation. Which could happen, but don’t wait for it.
• You don’t get to graduate from spiritual school (though many are out there these days) and be done with the process, or an instant guru or healer. 
• Books, courses, and certificates, even looking up angel numbers or using sage, crystals, or trinkets from the mystical store uptown won’t get you farther in your understanding or on your spiritual path unless coupled with integration and intentional growth. 
• When you open to learning with Spirit, you will be face to face with the things you’ve been hiding from yourself your whole life. You’ll be peeling back layers of pain, wounding, suffering, and even delving into ancestral or generational agony that you’re here to heal so your kids and grandchildren won’t have to deal with it.
• You don’t get to begin. The fact that you are here means your awakening has already begun.

It’s that easy. It’s already done. Congratulations on being on your spiritual journey!

The Huge Phenomenon

Ok, If you’re like that young version of me and need some sort of validation or ceremony to feel worthy of this huge spiritual “phenomenon,” you’re opening to, then consider yourself initiated, anointed, blessed, elected, appointed, and ordained. Right now. You’re where you’re supposed to be. You are a Spiritual Being.

Have you accepted this? Good. Now on to the fun stuff! (Oh, did I not mention that this path means work? Hard work? You can’t just wear new-age gear or watch a pre-recorded spiritual class for change… you actually have to read spiritual signs and for reals implement these tools to dig into self-healing? Emotionally draining, mentally taxing, confusing, painful, scream-into-your-pillow, rip-open-your-traumatic-wounds-to-recognize-the-pestilance-and-let-it-seep-out-so-you-can-truly-transform-and-experience-bliss healing? And with nobody but yourself to really commiserate with the bizarre changes happening to your poor body, mind, and emotions?)

Yeah. All this. Still in? Good. It truly becomes easier. Read on.

After recognizing that you’re on the path (and again, you are), you’re now in the choppy ocean of wanting to become. Perhaps you’ve already taken courses or read enough self-help books to want specific things spiritual gurus are touting: abundance, wealth, magical healing skills, the ability to channel high beings, become a seer, a mystic, and become more than you are right now. These attributes may or may not fold into your life path, and please recognize that if you make these types of things your immediate goal, I lovingly say, your spiritual journey is already quite misguided. 

Let’s step back.

Just by wanting these (yes, very cool) things, you’re setting into motion energies and frequencies that will push you farther away from the thing that will bring you more spiritual freedom: knowing the true you. Buzzword incoming: authenticity.

Authenticity is being an unconditional, loving, and fearless warrior for your Soul. This can be terrifying in the face of Society that teaches us to be a certain way, parents who expect particular behaviors and social/career/financial status, not to mention peers, social influencers, cultural expectations, old fears, and traumas, high school mean girls, and any of the innumerable things we’ve endured in our life so far. Spirituality means throwing all of them the bird and being true to yourself despite the outside pressures that have wormed their way inside our minds and hearts. It means checking in moment-to-moment to ensure that what was true to us is still true as we grow, expand, and change. We must heal and remove old learnings, survival skills, and any false masks we’ve adopted and shine our unique selves in this world boldly and fearlessly. 

Boy, does Spirit love that! Can you feel the confetti?

3 Ways to Become the Warrior of Your Soul (AKA, Authentic)

1) Accept Personal Responsibility

When you begin focusing on yourself with love, gratitude, and empathy, multitudes of spiritual miracles begin to unfold.  Hear me out:

You begin to recognize that you’re responsible for who you are. For the decisions you’ve made. For who you hang out with, how much money you make, and all of the things that ultimately add up to the ratio of happiness vs. unhappiness you have in your life right now (unless you’re a rare person who has had Spirit hand you severe trauma to shape your life. We will dig into this in a subsequent blog. Keep reading, however. The following pertains to all humans). The point is that YOU have made all the decisions to get you (or keep you) where you are. Nobody else. If you’re arguing this point, take a step back and get really raw and honest with yourself. Accept the responsibility. It’s the best way to jump into your spiritual journey.

Once you understand that you have gotten you here, something magical happens. Like the Yin: Yang (balance of good and evil, light and dark, negative and positive in everything everywhere), you realize you are also responsible for the magic of your future, for your change, and for how to move through your life in a productive and joyful way.  You automatically assume accountability for past decisions and fallouts from them. If you couple this accountability with empathy (knowing that you did your best with the skills and knowledge you had at the time), you gain immense wisdom, as well as many other magical unfolding:

• “Mistakes” become interesting ways to learn more about yourself, and practice self-love
• Your awareness opens
• You become conscious of new opportunities and ways things can appear in your life
• You invite honesty and integrity
• You experience your life from a new perspective
• You become empathetic, not sympathetic, towards yourself
• You become empathetic towards others and release your expectations of them and the conditions you’ve put on your relationships
• You begin living with unconditional love towards others, obliterating your stress, anxiety, and depression, leaving simple inner peace and outer joy and bliss.

One last reminder: please don’t get down on yourself for past decisions that may have led you into trouble. The past was also your spiritual path, and the lessons you’ve learned are more valuable than you can imagine. The wounds you’ve endured are pure gold and the key to your future healing. They factor into your divine purpose in life. Acknowledge that you did the best you could with the skills and knowledge you had at the time. Give yourself the deepest grace and gratitude, and use your newly found wisdom as you step into your power.

2) Immerse yourself with positive vibrations – hear me out!

I’m not talking about ignoring your “negative” thoughts and feelings. Most definitely not, as these are the keys to your healing. I’m talking about recognizing where you are on a “feelings vibrational scale” and having tools to bump yourself up. Here are some suggestions, and I invite you to invoke your creativity and make your own:

• If you’re out and about and feeling low, give five complete strangers genuine, heartfelt compliments. If at home or at work, give them to your family members or co-workers. Notice how they change. Notice how you change.
• Start understanding the gifts you have in life. A home, running water, air. A human body, complete with a heart, lungs, and brain, and probably some appendages. Wow! Expand to the external things that make your life easier. Next, find gratitude for the people in your life, then the animals and nature (whether found in your city or country neighborhood). Keep going. Some people keep a gratitude journal, but you can think it through a few times daily. Make this a habit.
• If you’re really in the depths of pain, depression, or anxiety, this trick helped me more than anything when I had almost zero energy: repeat the word “LOVE.” Out loud or in your head. Love is one of the highest vibrating states our human bodies can experience, only surpassed by serenity, bliss, and enlightenment. If you repeat the word love as a crazy-easy mantra, you’re automatically bathing yourself in a higher vibration and consciousness. You may not feel it, but you’re changing the energy within and outside you. Keep doing it. All day long. I used baby feeding times to repeat the word in my head. Dishwashing, driving, going to sleep. I said it to myself as much as possible when I had no energy or joy. It works. It will build your life energy from the purest dimension.
• After using the love mantra for a while, begin attaching that feeling of love to the word. If you can’t access the feeling just yet, just pretend to feel it and simply attach it to the mantra. After a week or so of doing this multiple times a day, extend the feeling of love to yourself. Allow yourself to love yourself. Make this your go-to exercise until you feel love inside and out. It could take a while. It took me a year or so. Always thank yourself after this work.

These are actually the beginnings of a beautiful self-love practice. Instead of focusing on self-love as an external activity (spa days, reading, shopping, etc.), feel actual love for yourself. This is radical healing. Deeply immerse yourself in unconditional love for YOU. If you feel you’re being selfish, think about the airplane rule… the one where you need to put your mask on first so you have the oxygen to help others. If you don’t love yourself first, you have no pure, unconditional love to give others. You’re trying to give from an empty cup. Fill that cup first. Being genuinely in love with yourself is foundational to your spirituality and overall health.

3) Become Aware

Bring your attention to what’s happening around you. What’s happening for you, what’s being offered to you. Your awareness, coupled with your willingness to play with Spirit, will bring a flood of opportunities and, well, assignments. You’ll start getting feelings that Spirit is offering as an invitation to play the game. Begin recognizing your feelings as signs. Yes, spiritual signs. It’s that simple (I still don’t know why so many people make signs so difficult! Read to the bottom where you can find my 7 days to reading signs challenge, “the Oracle Within.”) When you feel something, pay attention and comply. For example,

• I feel like I shouldn’t talk to him/her anymore. 
• I feel like I need to stay home tonight.
• I feel like I need a break.
• I feel like crap when xyz happens.
• I feel so happy when xyz happens!

The awareness happens when you consciously turn these feelings into red or green flags. Toxic versus healthy. A Hell Yes versus a Hell No. Gut instinct is a very powerful way Spirit talks directly to you.

Now, at the beginning of our spiritual journey, finding our feelings through daily life may feel too slow. To get your energetic flow up to speed with Spirit (and Spirit likes it if you move fast, with confidence!), you must show up and answer The Call. Get to work doing what you need to feel better: Stop talking to him/her. Stay home. Take a break or a nap, for goodness sake. Steep yourself in happiness for a moment! Stop feeling guilty when you’re taking time for yourself. Take this as a game and answer as many calls from Spirit as you can. The faster, the better. If Spirit is calling you to do something, you have support from the spiritual dimension. This is called trust or faith, and it’s a practice, as many of the illogical to-do items Spirit will ask of you will be going against everything that society has taught you. However, the more you play the game, the stronger your relationship and communication with Spirit will become, and you will know you have a safety net below you at all times.

At this juncture, I would like to interject one key topic: expect Spirit to teach you lessons on your journey. Experiencing human discomfort (loss of money, pain, sickness, career demotions or firings, problems in family life, severe trauma… anything really) is your path, given by Spirit. What you do with this discomfort and how you take responsibility will shape your path. Pain is just as important as pleasure. They both hold keys to unlock more of our secret doors.

During the beginning of your work with Spirit, it’s much like Boot Camp. It can be uncomfortable, and you’re learning divine lessons to fulfill your purpose and potential in life. Instead of escapism by turning to medicines such as booze, drugs, gambling, sex, etc., continue on the path, repeating, “Yes, Spirit, can I have another!” When you get really brave? Ask for more as fast as your human-ness can handle. The key is to do your time, learn your lessons, and gain wisdom to break through into magical flow and unconditional bliss with Spirit.  If you don’t spend the time and integrate every step on your journey, any fleeting bliss you find may spit you out like those folks who win the lottery in those Netflix documentaries. Prepare for the bliss – exercise filling and expanding your cup. If you don’t feel bliss now, holding that frequency or vibration for more than a sliver of time will be impossible until you do the work.

Once you feel the love for yourself flowing, opportunities will arise, and you will be attracting people into your life who will become your teachers, or you’ll find the perfect book to crack open for the next stage. Trust in the process. And hey, go grab that pretty crystal that’s calling your name. After all, that’s a sign too.

So there you have it. The beginning stages of your Conscious Spiritual Awakening. Your path will differ from everyone else’s, so relax and dig into self-love, self-compassion, gratitude, and getting to know yourself again. 

With love, Analiesa