Episode 52: How to Live a More Spiritual Life

Hello everyone and welcome to today's episode. I've been thinking about how it's amazing to live a spiritual life and how sometimes people think that it has to be this glamorous, calm, peaceful experience. And I don't think that living a spiritual life means that you are 100% always in peace. I believe that we are having a human experience and sometimes we have experiences that stretch us and allow us to grow. I think that we can have tools and values and practices that we can lean on to live a spiritual life.

So today I want to share 25 things to consider that will assist you in living a more spiritual life. And the number one that's on my list is to help others. I believe that when we help others we have an opportunity to get to know ourselves in a different way. I also believe that it's so gratifying seeing someone shift out of struggle into happiness or joy or to see them just be in gratitude. I think helping others allows us to get out of our own story and our own experiences.

And so I want to encourage you to help others. And helping others can look different for helping others can look different in different chapters of your life. You can donate your time, you can help a friend, you can help a stranger, you can pay for someone's coffee, you can help a homeless person. There are so many ways that we can help others and sometimes it's just picking up the phone and listening to a friend when they are struggling. Helping is super important.

The next one on my list is being patient. Patience is a virtue and we have to be patient with others, we have to be patient with ourselves, we have to be patient with spirit, as spirit and the universe is trying to bring forward the things that we're really wanting to have, the things that we're wanting to manifest and it takes time and so we have to be patient. Patient with ourselves, patience with others, and patient with God.

The next one is to let go of comparison. You are not here to compare yourself to others. You can be inspired by other people. What is not healthy is when you compare yourself to others and feel like you are in lack or you are not good as them or not good enough or not worthy enough. I want to encourage you to stop comparing yourself. Also don't compare yourself on where you're at, on your path in this moment in time compared to someone that's either just starting or someone that's been on the path as much longer than you. You have no idea what's going on behind the scenes with them. You have no idea how long they've been doing this. You have no idea of all the experiences that brought them to that moment in time. We live in a time of social media, and with social media, we have the tendency to compare. And so I want to encourage you not to compare.

The next one on the list is going to be a hard one for some people. And maybe I think this should be number one. I think all of these items are literally number one on my list. But I think this is the hardest for most people, and that is to love yourself. Loving yourself is a requirement to ascend. Loving yourself can be challenging. Loving the good, the bad, and the ugly. You are magnificent, my friend, and you are a spiritual being having a human experience. You're going to make mistakes bad things can happen.

You have to love yourself and forgive yourself, which is the next one on the list, which is forgiveness. And it's not only to forgive yourself but to forgive others. And sometimes people have a hard time with forgiveness because something bad happened to them. And maybe that person doesn't deserve your forgiveness, but you deserve the forgiveness because if you're not willing to forgive that person or that thing or that experience, the only person that is hurting is you. And the more that we are willing to forgive, the more space we open up for love, the more space we open up for loving ourselves, and the more space we open up for loving and having others love us as well.

The next one on the list is eating healthy. I believe that when we eat high vibrational foods, it increases our vibration, our vitality, our wholeness. And so the foods that you eat definitely affect your energy, your mental state, and your spiritual being. So eating healthy is key, which leads me to the next one, which is communion, which leads me to the next one on our list, which is communicating and being in nature. Nature has the ability to heal us.

The more that we allow ourselves to be in nature, the more that we can actually allow our energy to expand and our energy expands. And our energy will communicate and connect with nature. And then nature will connect with us and send us love and light and heal us and decompress us and transmute any heavy energies, transmute any sadness, grounds us, allows us to increase our vitality, allows us to be more creative as well. So being in nature will assist you in being and living a more spiritual life.

The next one on the list is being open to new experiences. Being stuck in your old ways that you like to live will definitely only create the same reality. If you give yourself permission to do new experiences, meaning working outside your comfort zone, doing things that excite you, and doing things that scare you as well, is going to help you to live a more spiritual life. It will also increase your happiness and joy factor as well.

Practicing gratitude is next on the list. You can practice gratitude throughout the day. Giving thanks for the things that you're grateful for. They do not have to be very big things. It could be like having a nice beautiful cup of tea or getting to have a conversation with one of your friends, or having fun just waking up on time. You're just grateful that you got out of bed on time, you're not late and you're not feeling stressed. That could be something you are grateful for. You can also have a gratitude journal and write out the things that you are grateful for in your gratitude journal. If you do this, you can do at least three things that you're grateful for. This is not a requirement. You can literally just list one thing that you are grateful for. I personally love practicing gratitude when I pray over my food.

The next one on our list is going to be prayer/intentions/mantras. When you pray, when you say a mantra, you're sending out a beautiful message to the universe, letting them know what you are grateful for and what you need support with. Mantras rewire the brain to prepare you to receive that new reality. Mantras and prayers also rewire the brain so that you're not stuck in a loop. It also increases your vibration. It shifts you out of a state of lack. It also shifts you out of a state of defeat as well. Because we're hearing into support, we're asking for support as well.

The next one on our list is being present. Presence is a hard practice for most people. Shut off your phone. Let go of outside distractions. Spend five minutes just being present with your breath. Spend five minutes being present with your lover, your friend, your coworker. Don't be distracted by outside things. Listen which is the next one on our list. Listening is really important. Listen to your heart's desires. Listen to the people that are talking to you. Try to wait your turn to say what you're wanting to say next. Fully, fully engage, and listen to what it is that you're listening to. If your mind starts to wander, come back to the conversation. Come back to the breath. Being more present will allow you to let go of the anxiety of the past and to let go of the anxiety of the future.

Most of us are really either caught in the past or too focused on the future than being present in the present moment. I know for me this can sometimes be a hard thing to do because I'm always like having new creative ideas and I want to accomplish the goals that I want to accomplish. And so if I notice that I'm way too far off in the future or if I'm stuck in the past, I will bring my attention back to the breath, back to the present moment, and I will give myself permission to be fully in my body. Fully in my body allows me to know that "Oh, I'm in this space in time. I'm here, right here, right now, and I am okay to just be." So be present.

The next one, which I am so excited to share, this one on the list, which is savoring the little things. I love finding things that I get great enjoyment out of. And I'll give you an example like stepping on a crunchy leaf during fall, or how a cozy blanket feels on my skin when it's cold outside. Or a freshly squeezed lemon in my water. Or how a particular smell fills up the house when you're cooking. Or how my husband's hand fits gently in my hand. These are the little things that you can savor throughout the day. And the more that you savor and the more that you appreciate these little things, you will increase your joy and happiness and increase your spirituality. And just noticing those things, it's so amazing when you just look at those little things that bring you great, great joy, which then plays back into practicing gratitude. Because these little things that you're savoring, you can appreciate and call out that you are grateful for as well.

The next one on the list is meditation. Meditating will assist you in hearing answers to your prayers. Also decompresses the body, decompresses the mind, and decompresses the soul allows you to get connected with your mind, body, and soul. I believe that this is one of the most important spiritual practices, period. Meditation is crucial and important. It is okay if you don't think you're meditating correctly. There's no specific amount of time that you have to meditate. I often tell my students if they only want to meditate or only have time to take ten conscious breaths, that counts as a meditation. It's really important to meditate because your monkey mind will start to settle. The object of meditation is not to decrease the monkey mind, it is to be present with the breath and to allow yourself to become more present.

The mind will wander, you just come back to the breath. Meditation can heal. Can heal emotional wounds, and can help heal physical pains as well. Will it happen overnight? Possibly. I know for me, I healed some of the chronic pain that I was having with my hip when I cracked my tailbone for the second time in my life and I was walking with a limp. I was in excruciating pain for over a year. And it wasn't until I started meditating that I was able to get off my pain medicine and I was able to diffuse and release and let go of the emotional pain that was causing the physical pain as well. So it's mind-blowing what meditation can do for you.

Next on the list is to clear your energy daily. We are constantly being bombarded by different things, different influences, and different energies. You can walk outside in a crowded area and you can pick up the energy that's around you. You can watch a scary movie or scroll on social media and pick up on some political turmoil that's happening. It's really important that you clear your energy on a consistent basis because it will make you feel better.

Next on the list is finding a spiritual community. And I'm going to add one to that and also be open to sharing your spirituality. I find that it is easier to be open and share your spiritual ideas, beliefs, and thoughts and get curious when you're in a like-minded community. When you're in a like-minded community, you have an opportunity to be yourself. Being yourself is also on this list. And so when you join the spiritual community, you have an opportunity to get with people that get you and will also assist you in understanding your spirituality as well. Not all spiritual communities are meant for you. I know for me, like, I can join some spiritual communities, they feel like my people, and then there are other spiritual communities that aren't my people and that is perfectly okay. Find the community that really works for you because it will assist you in learning and understanding yourself a little differently.

Next on the list is to study. I love reading spiritual books. I love listening to different podcasts. I love listening to different creators on YouTube or social media. I'm a studier. I want to learn as much as possible. And I find that the more that we get curious about ourselves and about topics that we are interested in, the more that we live a more spiritual life. Do all the books have to be spiritual? Absolutely not. I have found great insights in just reading or listening to a fictional book about myself because I have an opportunity to just be immersed in the energy of that book. I also do study different topics that might not necessarily be spiritual, but they're self-help and self-development that I think is very important. Studying is key. It's so important because you're going to learn something new about yourself.
This leads me to the next one on our list is to have a self-discovery. When we are willing to get curious about ourselves, we can have a self-discovery. Getting curious looks like asking yourself, why are you doing that very thing? Or why is that bothering you? Or why are you reacting in that particular way? The more you get curious about your habits, your thoughts, your deeds, your words, and your patterns, the more you're going to have a self-discovery. And then when you have a self-discovery, you have an opportunity to shift what's not working for you and to embody what is, which is really awesome when you get an opportunity to do that.

The next one on the list is journaling your goals and desires. Journaling your goals and desires will allow you to get clear on what it is that you truly want. By journaling them, you also have an opportunity to send that signal out into the universe. Another step that you can do on top of journaling is sharing it with at least one person. Science has shown that research has shown that when you share your goals, desires, and dreams with at least one person, you're more likely to achieve them.

The next one on the list is laugh and Have More Fun. When you laugh, when you have more fun, you increase your vibration. You'll attract more of those experiences in your life. The universe will also gift you with more laughter and more friendships and more relationships that are more fulfilling in your life as well. Be willing to have more fun. Don't take life so seriously. We are meant to have fun. We are meant to live heaven on earth in this lifetime. It does not have to all be a struggle, but you have to be willing to look at your struggles, look at your patterns and release them and receive help when you need to receive help, which that would be the next one on the list. Ask for help when you need help.

The next one on the list is to trust and listen to your intuition. You do not have to consider yourself psychic or intuitive. We were all born with the ability to have and harness and develop our intuition. We are all intuitive. So the more that you trust that gut instinct you have, the more you're going to develop your intuition. So trust and listen to your intuition. Follow the energy as it presents itself to you. For me, this is a huge one on the list. Any time an opportunity comes my way and I have a gut healing that that's something I'm supposed to do, I do it. If I have a gut feeling that I'm not supposed to be doing it, I don't do it every single time. I followed my intentions and followed the opportunities that were presenting themselves to me.

It has brought me to places that I never dreamed of and it's brought me to this place. Talking to you guys, I definitely never thought I'd be a spiritual teacher. I never thought I'd be a podcaster. I never thought I would be sharing on video. I just followed the energy as it presented itself to me and I trusted my gut that I knew that this was supposed to be the thing for me. So follow the energy. Even if you're scared. You can still ask a lot of questions as well.

Practice compassion. Compassion for yourself and for others. You never know what's going on in another person's shoes. They might be having a bad day, they might flip you off, they might be so angry, they might be doing something. You don't know what's going on with that person. Also, if someone is sharing a story with you about another person, you don't know what's happening with that other person as well. And so I always lean into and hold space for my friend, my family member, whoever it is that's struggling. But I will also hold compassion for the other person as well. I'll hold compassion for myself too. I know I make mistakes.

I know that I can beat myself up for over the mistakes that I have made. Holding compassion for yourself is a great way to learn how to forgive as well. And it's also important that you are willing and able to see that you are able to learn from those experiences and from those mistakes. Compassion is important. Compassion allows us to soften our hearts. Compassion allows us to heal. Compassion allows the other person to heal as well.

This leads me to the next thing speaking your truth. Speaking your truth is really important. Doing it with lots of love and compassion is very important as well. Some of you have a hard time sharing it is what you need. I know for me, depending on the person, the situation, and the experience, it's easy for me to speak my truth. Depending on the person they experience, sometimes it's very challenging. I always challenge myself to speak the truth. The more that I speak my truth, the more that it's easier for me to do. Speaking the truth sometimes comes later on after I've realized that I did not share my truth. And then I have to practice that compassion and forgiveness so that I can go and speak my truth and share the truth with another person or myself.

This list of living a spiritual life I think is way more than 25. It is not the only thing. There are many things that will allow you to live a spiritual life and something that I want you to think about is how spirituality, how living a spiritual life can support you in your soul's evolution. The clearer that you get on that concept and that idea will also invite and invoke you to live a more spiritual life as well. Be at peace, bring more joy and more laughter in your life and be okay with working outside your comfort zone. The more you work outside your comfort zone, the more that you're going to see what is possible for you to live in the highest and best path.

I hope that you enjoyed today's episode. Please share like and subscribe. It would mean the world to me if you did. I look forward to seeing in the next episode. Bye.