Spirituality
Wait… Is this what it really means?
When Oprah Winfrey began talking openly about spirituality on national television in the 90s, many people didn’t know what to make of it. Even with esteemed guests like Dr. Deepak Chopra beside her, the idea of “spirituality” sounded, in her own words, a little woo-woo.
And honestly… I thought so too.
Like most people, I equated spirituality with religion. Faith meant doctrine. Belief meant belonging to a system someone else created. To talk about “spiritual awakening” or “inner guidance” seemed indulgent—maybe even naïve.
But now I see it differently.
Spirituality, as I’ve come to understand it, is not about dogma or rules. It’s the radical act of turning inward.
Crazy that turning inward to Know ThySELF is somehow a radical act. But it is, isn’t it?
Our culture has forever rewarded outsourcing—outsourcing our health to doctors, our happiness to relationships, our success to job titles and finances, our societies to politicians, our beliefs to the opinions of others—so much so that looking within has become the exception, not the norm.
The consequence? In the least, diminished confidence in your own intuition. And at worst, loss of self.
Rather than seek for answers outside of yourself, turn inward and—from the very seat of your consciousness—tap into the infinite wisdom living inside you. Why is that so radical?! It’s you!
Why It’s So Hard (and So Worth It)
After doctors diagnosed me, I had one question: How did I get ALS?
And I went deep within myself to begin what has now been an over three-year exploration—revealing to me the me I have always wanted to be, the me I have always been, but who’d gotten lost in a lot of ego, fear, and darkness.
The good news for you is… you’re probably not dealing with ALS. So your journey within—though still requiring a significant amount of courage—is hopefully not as urgent.
Your destiny doesn’t hinge upon your becoming spiritual.
But I’m writing to tell you… I think it does. In fact, I know it does.
Because becoming spiritual confronts you with change. You face the patterns of your life—the thoughts, the feelings, the beliefs, the behaviors that you have practiced and relied upon, that are now on autopilot and probably have been for more than a decade—and you take the risk of coming into the knowing that if you change any of those things about yourself, your life might possibly improve.
It will.
It might be messy at first. Your ego will push and scream back at you—because this is the beginning of you dismantling it. But if you start with something small… like a question:
“How do I feel when I’m doing the dishes?”
Or ask a little bigger:
“What thoughts do I repeat throughout the day, every day?”
And just like that, you’re on your way into getting to know yourself. You don’t even need your therapist’s permission.
(…By the way, have you tried ChatGPT as a therapist yet? Incredible.)
As I began to get to know my thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, it was like getting to know the matrix that I was living in—a narrative I had created over many years of practice about who I was, why I was, and what I was doing in the world.
As I started to take that apart and ask myself, If this is really what I wanted, then why aren’t I happy?—it was like discovering a light bulb on under a stack of thick black curtains.
I had to remove the curtains to find my Light.
Sure, this takes a lot of practice.
But why would you want to keep practicing what you’re currentlypracticing if you’re unhappy?
If you have anxiety or depression?
If you’re not sure what your purpose is?
If stress is causing health issues?
If you have trouble sleeping?
Or if, like the old me, you can’t stand doing the dishes because you’ve got better things to do. (Spirituality has taught me I didn’t feel worthy enough to just be in the ordinary moments of my life. Everything had to be extra extraordinary. Not anymore.)
One of the many rewards of becoming spiritual is: you become more accepting of the moment. You realize the now is all there ever is. You become conscious of how you spend each moment, and you choose better. And your life changes—for the better.
Your ego is probably telling you right now:
“You’re going to lose yourself.”
Mine did.
However, the opposite is true.
You will find yourself.
And that’s not woo-woo, folks—that’s a promise.
With love and admiration for your journey,
Aaron