There are so many people that are spiritual advisors/self help gurus/healers/life coaches/ manifestation experts/expanders and so on. It can be overwhelming to try and figure out the path...the path to happiness, the path to enlightenment, the path just to the gosh darn grocery store. We live in such a complex society. One that keeps us so distracted from reality. One that creates so much chaos, trauma, pain and suffering and then offers us up so many temporary solutions to keep us distracted from self. We have so many gurus, wellness and self helpers out there...and so many daily distractions, (TV, Phone< Social Media, Billboards, Pod casts, Video games, messages to consume, consume, consume) yet we sometimes feel like attaining any real peace is completely beyond our reach.
I would like to tell you that I have found the absolute answer and can impart wisdom on you right now, that this is the true path and it is the path that will bring you infinite joy and a life free if pain. But I'm not, and I can't. But what I can tell you is, I feel so much more at peace now than I did 10/11 years ago. And I have TRIED so many different things.
I will list them now first with ones that I think may have helped and then a list of things that ABSOLUTELY DID NOT HELP!
MAYBE HELPED
Yoga (especially Kundalini)
Quitting Drinking (paramount for me)
Supplements (specifically H3TP, Vit B and Ashwagandha)
Healers (but only one of them - so many I did not resonate with)
Reike (but only sometimes)
Self Realization Fellowship (their teachings really resonate - all paths lead to the same god)
AA (changed my life, everyone should do the 12 steps whether an alcoholic or not - Great tools for leading a good life)
Alanon (another 12 step program, Wonderful for healing Trauma)
Therapy (Thank god for my wonderful Therapist)
About 200 Self Help Books (some good some bad)
Meditation (changed my life)
Full Moon Ceremonies (take what you want from them. I like the community aspect)
Tarot Readings (fun, sometimes helpful)
Exercise (yes!)
Special Diets ( I mean you are what you eat)
Gratitude List (helpful on really angry days)
Prayer (yes yes yes - embrace this strange feeling thing)
Service Work (always makes me feel better)
Mentorship Programs (Both as a Mentor and a Mentee)
Asking for help when it's needed (this one was and is still hard)
Being there for people when they need help
Spending time in nature (awe trees you are my spiritual teacher)
PRACTICE COMPASSION WITH OTHERS AND MYSELF (daily practice that I fail at all the time)
Forgive others and myself (same as above but mandatory for a loving life)
Prayed for the people places and things that I do not like (ohh this one is hard but damn does it help) Also try loving kindness meditations
Tapping ( l love this so much that I made youtube videos that you can follow along with here)
Working on identifying trauma and healing it (yes this is the over arching goal!)
Things that did not work
Drinking More
Men
Sex
Shopping and consuming
Surrounding myself with people to avoid loneliness
Isolating to avoid rejection
Staring at social media
Moving to new places
Cutting people out of my life
Hiding from my trauma though distraction
Shutting down and or shutting off
Food
Yelling at people when I'm angry
Being a workaholic
Lying to my therapist
Rejecting God
Wishing evil acts on the people, places or things that I do not like
Thinking I do not need help
Staring at netflix for 6 hours
So here is my main take away from all of the things that probably, maybe did help. All spiritual paths, self help, self realization techniques all lead to the same god. It really does not matter which avenue you choose, the relief is in the practice and in seeing the program through till the end; not giving up when it's hard or you feel blocked. Any time I picked up a self help book/ went to a program, followed a spiritual path and made it a priority and really gave it ago I felt relief. Even when I did it imperfectly or half assed. Because even the tiniest bit of effort creates space for growth. When we open a tiny sliver of ourselves to god, he/she/they finds their way in. The universe is always listening. When we ask and are really ready to jump into the universes cosmic ride of connectivity and alignment, it is there to take us on our true journey. It's always just sitting there ready and waiting for us to smash our egos.
So stop searching, stop asking, stop looking for other humans to figure out your path, just pick the thing that resonates with you and see it through. Do the hard work. Don't give up when it is painful. Follow the path till the end. All the resources that are out there all take you to the same place. They all give you the slight nudge that you may need, to connect to your own source. No one can give it to you...because you already have it. You just forgot that you did as you trudged through the sludge that is called human existence. You are infinite light. You are infinite source...and you are the guru. Now go find the thing that will wake you the Fu** up and see it though.
*Also I'm happy to share a specific daily practice that works for me if you need me to be that nudge.
**Also some-days I do all the work and still feel like poo (that's ok too)
***Also some-days I'm miserable and I do none of the work, because I just want to wallow in that poo (and that is also ok)
