What Faith?

Discussing faith, spirituality or religion isn’t easy, as we all have varying beliefs, making it hard for people to relate to one another. For me, it doesn’t matter what you believe in (or don’t believe in). There’s a small part to each of our lives which requires some sort of faith. Whether it be going to weekly mass, praying privately at home or even just enjoying a fortune cookie or your monthly horoscope from time to time. Each of these require an element of faith. Even on a silly subconscious level; we consider something bigger at play or a degree of connectedness between all living things. When I think about my soul growth, especially recently, a key contributor to my progress has been my faith, hence the desire for me to write about it.

I didn’t grow up in a religious family. I remember when I was around 6 years old, asking my parents why I wasn’t allowed to do religious studies like some of my other classmates. My only reason for wanting to be included was because those kids got to learn all about Christmas. And damn, do I love Christmas, even now in my thirties. Instead, I had to sit with all the other atheist kids, colouring-in pictures of Santa. Yawn. But even without a religious or spiritual upbringing, there was a curiousness within me of something greater than my immediate surroundings.

Nowadays, my spirituality is complex and relevant to the 21^st century. For anyone who is curious about exploring their modern-day faith, Ruby Warrington’s book Material Girl, Mystical World touches on all sorts of spiritual options in today’s world. Everything from yoga to astrology to crystal healing. My mindset to this (and life in general) is take what speaks to you and leave what doesn’t. I’ve explored all sorts of spiritual practices; meditation, numerology, astrology, Reiki, crystal healing and I love a good psychic from time to time. They all have a place in my life, for varied reasons and to varying degrees.

I’ll start with Reiki, as it’s the newest and most loved form of healing in my life. I recently learnt the traditional Usui Reiki method in hope of one day becoming a practitioner. For those who don’t know what Reiki is, I’ll give you the briefest of brief explanations. Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of meditation and healing, said to be a path to enlightenment. The healing technique itself uses life-force energy guided by Source/Spirit/God (whoever you relate to) to align the seven chakras, for energy to flow freely around the body for complete physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing. Deep, I know… However, the key to fully appreciating what Reiki can offer, is in the recommended meditation and gratitude mantras. And that, you don’t need to be spiritual to appreciate; ‘gratitude journals’ and meditation are becoming more and more popular, as people seek out peace in their chaotic lives.

You don’t need to believe in Reiki (or anything for that matter) to gain the benefits of the healing practice; so if you just want to try it out, do a little research online or reach out for a referral to find someone reputable. Different people experience different things while receiving Reiki (from smells to tastes to sensations), and some don’t feel anything at all. My first ever Reiki session was about 10 years ago. As I was laying there, being a normal human, doubting every second of this strange spiritual practice and thinking about what I was going to have for dinner that night (that’s normal, right?), the Reiki practitioner moved her hands over my liver and tears started rolling down my cheeks. As soon as she moved her hands away, the tears stopped. I remember laying there thinking “what on Earth is happening right now… can she hear my thoughts… am I imagining this… but seriously, pizza would be good for dinner…” Although I didn’t understand it and still can’t intellectualise it, I left feeling completely at peace.

Since then, I’ve had countless sessions. My Reiki Master has become somewhat of my counsellor, assisting me in my spiritual and soul growth journey. Shining light into the darkest places of my psyche, advocating for unconditional love and grounding me when my head is too far in the clouds. Reiki is a whole life approach; as it combines meditation, gratitude mantras, exercise and clean eating (although I’m not great at that part), on top of the energy healing described above. Through some of the most testing times in my life, Reiki has provided me greater insight into my gut instinct, helped calm my anxiety and cleared my mind when things seemed blurry. 10 years on, I still leave every session with a greater sense of peace.

I also want to touch on numerology and astrology (the full astrological birth chart, not just your star sign), as they both can assist in understanding the complexities of our soul and/or personality. Beyond the broad description of being ‘ambitious’ or ‘generous’, we can better understand all the shades of who we are. The light, dark and every version of grey in between. The thought behind these, is at the very point in which we are born, including time of birth and location (which is 100% unique to you, even as a twin), it gives us an astrological map of where every planet, the sun and moon were in the sky at the exact time of birth. The energies of these celestial bodies influence the energies of all living things, impacting who we are as people. I can see the eye rolling of the cynics from here, and I do understand why. I was raised to be an intellectual. To believe in what I could see and understand. The reason why I found pleasure in exploring astrology and numerology, is I found it could describe the complexity of my personality better than I could myself. This encourages understanding and acceptance, and when we finally accept all parts of ourselves, our true journey can begin. We can then decide what we want to remain unchanged, what needs tweaking and what needs a longer-term commitment for our ongoing soul growth.

For example, in numerology I am a life path 7, describing me as the ultimate loner. For some, they wouldn’t necessarily see me this way; ultra-reserved and insecure. But I do struggle with small-talk and only build close relationships with a small few who I truly align with. My favourite time of every day, is when I get to be at home, by myself (usually in the bath) and just, be alone. When I combine this with my astro chart, I see the true complexities of each part of my personality. I.e. my Rising sign is 23 degrees Leo, which states “you love to be the centre of attention and you want to appear strong, confident and dominant. You are very proud of yourself, sometimes quite vain even. When all around you are bedraggled and falling apart, you look like a million bucks”. This seems to be the opposite to the numerology reading, and I know many people in my life would attest to that being aligned far closer to my persona. And it’s also very true! You see… I’m both! Each one of us holds complexities far greater than we allow ourselves to explore. By understanding these better, it has allowed me to live a life which sustains both; I am selfish about my alone time, as this feeds my energy, and allows me to be more confident and present with others, when I’m out and about.

Finally, this wouldn’t be a spiritual post without discussing meditation. There’s obviously the traditional form of meditation, where you try to clear your mind of all thoughts. If you haven’t tried this, let me tell you, it’s ridiculously hard to maintain for a prolonged time. Beyond traditional meditation, there are many different guided meditations you can find on YouTube which are easy to follow, as well as meditation app’s such as ‘Calm’, which track your daily progress. It doesn’t matter what meditation you try, they all have the same aim of relieving stress, giving greater perspective and reaching a state of enlightenment. I believe we can achieve these things through other activities as well though. For instance, some people find peace in or around bodies of water, during exercise or yoga, or in my case being around greenery (i.e. parks, the forest or the bush). The feeling I get as soon as I’m in the trees is an instant release of anxiety and stress and can think with greater clarity. Finding this ‘place’ or activity for each of us, can speak volumes for our mental health and overall well-being.

A recurring theme I have noticed recently, within myself and the people around me, is that we are living lives which don’t value the ‘now’. There is no appreciation of the present moment. We’re waiting for the weekend or the next holiday to appreciate our lives and the people in it. Whether it be when you’re playing in the park with your kids, missing the moment and simplicity of ‘joy’, because you’re thinking about how you’re going to pay the electricity bill next week. Or you’re driving in the car with your significant other as they’re telling you about their day, but all you can think about is how you’ll meet so-and-so deadline by Friday. It’s not until our lives are shaken by significant events that we gain perspective and think back to ‘that time’ in which things were ‘simpler’ or we were ‘happier/better/skinnier/richer’, choose your poison. So, if meditation (or our peaceful place or activity) does give us greater perspective, then we can live fuller, richer, more heartfelt and meaningful lives every single day. Our lives will never be ‘perfect’, because what IS perfect? Our minds are the best (and besides from medicating ourselves) the only way we escape this fast-paced, disposable lifestyle. We choose our thoughts and our outlook on life and we are completely in control of whether we appreciate our every day, not just our holiday’s.

I certainly don’t expect everyone reading this to relate to my spiritual journey. The aim in discussing this isn’t to convince everyone to run out and find a Reiki healer, but I do hope it makes you question how your faith fits within your life. How you find peace of mind. How the people, places and activities within your life affect your moods and inner balance. And most importantly, how your religion, faith or spirituality, in whatever form, can assist you in better understanding yourself (the good, the bad and the ugly) for your own soul growth journey.

My learning’s from my spiritual journey:

1. Find the activity/place which allows for your complete peace of mind. Is it sport? Cooking? The ocean? Long drives in the countryside? Find what speaks to you and be unapologetic in pursuing it. Be disciplined in scheduling time for these activities. You’ll be a fuller, more engaged person for it!
2. Be curious about your complexities. Find someone or something that helps you explore your own identity, fully. If you’re curious about astrology, you can get a free birth chart at astrostyle.com
3. Consciously choose your outlook on each and every moment. Sh*t happens to everyone. It’s how you carry yourself and get on with it that matters…