When You Feel Like There Is No Time For Your Spiritual Growth

“What you do doesn't matter one tiny bit, if who you are BEING isn't in alignment with that” - Lilli Badcock

Introduction:

The spiritual and self-development communities love to over complicate things for us, and this very much includes the many rituals and blueprints we can follow to ensure we are being our very best spiritual selves. 

How many times have you read someone’s post about their Morning Routine which starts at 4am and involves hours of meditation, moving their body, journaling, praying, cold water immersion and eating the rare fruits of whatever tropical island they are living on, and felt TOTALLY deflated because it is SO far away from the reality you are living?

It’s all WAY too much!  And it’s not at all necessary!

Here’s something I learned a hell of a long time ago…it’s never about what you do, but about who you BE.  

In other words, what you do doesn’t matter one tiny bit, if who you are BEING the rest of the time isn’t in alignment with that.

Story time…

There was a time a few years back when I was doing ALL the things!  Sticking post in notes around my house with affirmations on, journaling every morning, meditating, walking out in nature, buying all the crystals, burning the incense, bending and stretching myself into yoga poses and whatever else I could think of to make me become the spiritual goddess I so wanted to be!  After all, the others I could see who were already ‘there’ seemed SO happy and free!  Not to mention they were making millions and living their best lives!

And don’t get me wrong.  Some of that stuff SAVED me!  It truly did help.  But…underneath it all, I was feeling more and more inadequate and I was becoming more and more frustrated by the fact that no matter what I seemed to do, I was still…well, me!

You see, I had been feeling SO disconnected and SO unhappy with myself and my life, that when I visioned my future I really saw myself as a completely different version of me!  What I know now is that I was judging the true essence of who I am.  I was looking around at others and through my own perception, I was deciding that they were somehow better than me and that this was the new goal…to be more like them and less like myself!

Look…waking up at 4am and tying themselves in knots really truly does work for some people.  It’s genuinely what they love and so they absolutely should be doing that.  But if that’s not you, it doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of misery and spiritual unfulfillment!

The entire point of all of this is you’re supposed to come home to yourself!  You’re meant to drop anything that you’ve picked up from others around who you’re supposed to be and what that’s mean to look like and instead, allow more of YOU to shine through!

So anyway, back to the point… ;-)

You’re not lacking time to focus on your spiritual development because it doesn’t require any additional time!  What it requires is micro shifts in the right direction.  Utilising the small pockets of time you do have to listen to an inspiring podcast (you can listen to mine here for starters!), or read a paragraph in a book but THEN allow yourself to begin integrating what you learn into every moment as you move through life.

This is not a reward scheme.  You don’t receive riches and fulfilment because you were a good girl and wrote in your journal this morning.  The magic happens over time, because of who you become in the process!  

Maintaining inner peace and high vibration whilst navigating the world…

One of the issues that comes up for those of us following a spiritual path, is the struggle to keep the vibes high as we navigate day to day life.  I’m sure you know what I mean…you do your regular sound healing or yoga practice that helps you to feel totally connected and you leave feeling on top of the world, only to run into someone with road rage on the way home!  You walk in the door from your weekend retreat to hear your child screaming from the bathroom that they need their ass wiped or your partner informing you that the bins need to go out!  Am I right?  ;-)

So how can you stay high vibe in a world of chaos?

The simple answer is…you can’t!  And you’re not meant to!  Raising the vibration is something that is spoken about a LOT in the spiritual and self-development spaces and personally I think it’s unrealistic.  You may have seen the 5D realm in your recent astral travels but the fact of the matter is that you are a human living a human experience.  You can’t (and shouldn’t) be trying to ignore everything that ‘doesn’t align’ with your new spiritual persona.  Honestly?  It’s wanky!  It’s entitled and it’s bullshit!  Oh…and it’s also an excellent sign that you’re not half as evolved as you believe yourself to be!  Harsh but true…and I know because that was me a few years ago!

I was very cross about the fact I had to do the human thing!  I thought because I’d had my spiritual awakening that I was some kind of elevated chosen one and frankly, I felt like I was above the human experience.  Yeah.  Wanky!  ;-)

I’m sure we’d all love to be floating around the ether as the golden balls of magical fairy dust we all know we are, but we’re not.  We are here in these meat suits and we’re supposed to live life with all of it’s ups and downs!  If you are currently choosing to ignore or opt-out of anything that is remotely ‘low vibe’ then you’re really not having the experience you were brought here to have.  If you are judging or looking down on those around you because you believe they are victims of their own negative thinking, then you’re extremely far away from the enlightenment you think you have.  

So no, it’s not about staying high vibe all of the time.  But it IS about working to create a higher vibrational setpoint.  In other words, being able to quickly return to truth when faced with something challenging.

When I was navigating the grief of losing one of my best friends, I went to an extremely dark place and for a short time, all faith and hope seemed lost.  But in the midst of the pain and turmoil, I heard a small voice asking “What would feel better than this?”.  It felt like a pointless question to answer in the face of such hopelessness, but as the days went by I realised that I had succumbed to some truly negative thoughts that were threatening to keep me stuck in the pain.

I believe my ability to ask myself that question at such a difficult time was as a result of all the work I had done previously on my own spiritual and self-development.  Another great reminder that the results of our work are rarely seen in the immediate aftermath, but rather later on down the line and when it really counts.

This requires surrendering to the fact that this is an ongoing journey and then DAILY commitment to the practices that can help us to take on life and all of it’s twists and turns.

For me personally, the practices I enjoy include journaling, walking and singing as well as ongoing self-reflection.  I have truly learned the art of being objective with my own thoughts and feelings so I can recognise when I am in danger of slipping into negative cycles.

But above all else, what has helped me the most was truly recognising and accepting who I am at my core.  I have learned to connect to this truth in such a way that when my human gets caught up in fear and overwhelm, I am able to quickly recognise this as being separate from me so I can move past it.

So…who are you?  What is your truth?  

I can already tell you that you are LOVE and that your life has a purpose that transcends any pain or struggle you may be facing right now.  I can also tell you that you have the strength to walk through whatever you are being asked to navigate.

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