Walking the Spiritual Journey | 7th House Podcast

I have no idea what episode this is either. This episode 4, episode potentially 4, potentially 4, episode 4.

I'm gonna say 3 or 4. It might be 3.

3.5. No, I think you're right. I think it's for— we're doing the vague topic of our spiritual journey. Um, yeah, I'm keeping it open. Um, you know what, let's play with this, Sarah, in real time while we're recording and all these fun jazz. Okay, it's like an interview thing.

Um, let's do it.

Yeah, I gotta think of a question. Yeah, I feel like— I mean, I know your story and you know mine pretty well, right? Because we've known each other well. But where, um, where for you in your life would you say your spiritual journey started? I like that. Yeah, let's go there.

Oh, okay. So that's actually a really good question. I was thinking about this last night because I'm like, where do I even begin? When I'm having this conversation with you. Like, do I start with when Kevin passed away, or do I go even further back to just being sick and, um, being a kid in the hospital, having a best friend whose family was spiritual and my family was not spiritual in the least bit? And having spirituality find me through somebody else's family entirely. Um, so that was for me, like, thinking about where did my spiritual journey begin. It's kind of a two-pronged, three-pronged, three-pronged process because it started, I guess you could say, when I was really little, when I was about 7 or 8. Um, I'd spend the evenings, uh, Saturday nights at my best friend's house. I spent a lot of time at her house, and her family was Christian. My family was not Christian. So that was my first introduction into the world of spirituality and, um, discussing the things that we can't necessarily see but could potentially be guiding us, um, for better or worse. And, um, So that was where I got my foot in the door with spirituality, was going to church with her family and having that be an option open up to me. Um, and then later, um, in my teens, her and I sort of drifted apart. I was going to church less and less with her and her family, and Then I started dating a boy who— his mother was a Reiki master, and she sort of took me under her wing, and she attuned me to my level 1 and was saying that my attunement was one of the most powerful attunements she'd ever done on anybody. And, um, her and I had worked together for about 2 years And I only ever worked up to my level 1 with her because she was just providing me Reiki for quite a while before I started learning it.

Yeah.

And then I moved out here, and after that, I lived here for a good long while. Wasn't spiritual at all, was hardly using my Reiki, was not doing anything of the sorts with Jesus or other spirits. And, uh, then my best friend died of a drug overdose, and within 24 hours of his passing, I started hearing his voice, um, speaking next to me. And at first I kind of thought I was going a little bit crazy, but he did a couple of things to assure me that what I was experiencing was very real, and he made sure that, um, I was able to understand that the messages were real and accurate with complete clarity and like deep, deep knowing that what I'm hearing from his spirit was truth. And, um, he started working with me from the other side, and that's when I kind of dove deep into the spiritual stuff and didn't look back. Um, it had really been doing its best to find me my whole life, and I kept kind of brushing it off, and it was always in my back pocket. Um, I had a little bit of a relationship with Jesus, like, throughout my 20s. Um, I would open communication with him when things were really difficult, when I felt like I alone and I didn't have any support, I always remembered that I felt comfort whenever I would call Jesus in and hang out with him. Um, so I did that once in a while, but I wasn't really doing that often. It was kind of like when I hit my lowest lows. So yeah, I would say that like for my journey, Jesus has always been a big part of it, or Yeshua, however you want to refer to him. And, um, it's been something that's been like this nagging button that's been like, hey, we want you to pay attention to us. And, uh, So I did after Kevin started talking to me, and I haven't looked back.

Thank you for that.

Yeah, it's been a wild ride. How about you, Joy? What would you say yours, um, your starting point was where you couldn't look back?

Oh, where I couldn't look back. See, I find it interesting. You're— I mean, I know your history, right? And you started with church. But for me, even though I grew up in the church And that seems like a very obvious starting point that doesn't actually feel true for me, just the way it all was. But you can go back to an old episode and listen to that. Um, but, um, just for context, I grew up Southern Baptist in America, in the evangelical or conservative Christian bubble, right? And then, um, became an atheist around 25. And in my early 30s, I went to therapy to learn how to meditate to deal with my anxiety as an atheist. It was pure like for psychology, you know, for like mental health, not for spirituality. Um, I moved to Portland, Oregon at like 32, 33, I have no idea. And, um, I started picking random meditations that I had no idea that they were spiritual. I didn't really know what I was doing. I was just doing it for my anxiety. But I picked one about a higher self. I didn't know what a higher self was. I don't know why I picked it. It was my intuition probably leading me there, and I had a profound experience meeting my higher self and like being blasted with unconditional love and realizing that was actually me. Like, I could feel it was me, and I just burst into tears, and I had no idea what was actually going on, but it was such a profound experience, um, that it made me start to question my atheism. And just like, wait, I shut the book on religion, I shut the book on anything spiritual, supernatural, right? And yet here I am meditating for anxiety, and I just had this profound experience with something called a higher self that's also me. Giving me his unconditional love. So like, what the fuck's all this about? Um, which sent me down a lot of rabbit holes. I had a lot of, um, I did a little bit of psychedelics there, which added more experiences to just kind of question reality. And like, um, it took about a year to like go down the rabbit holes and I, I went back to Christianity, and I'm like, that doesn't feel right for me. And then I would, I had friends there in Portland that would, you know, be like, well, hey, check out these people, like Dolores Cannon or Alan Watts, things like this, right? So I eventually started doing all that, and, um, Yeah, so for me, it started in my mid-30s where it really became a personal thing and like a, um, uh, part of my identity again outside of organized religion. Yeah, I got another question for us though, Sarah, that I think might be a good direction for this podcast. Let's see if I can articulate it, uh, which I probably can't. So I'm sure you can't. Um, I know you talked about in your story how you had some time there where you were not being spiritual, right? And I have as well, that I did not tell in my story just now, but I have had those moments in life that lasted a year, sometimes at length. I think 2020 was that for me with the lockdowns and everything. I was living in another country and I just did not meditate once.

It just—

maybe I did, but you know what I mean? Like, it just was not a thing. I was kind of in— for everybody and globally, but I guess the question I'm feeling in— feeling into now is like, we're on these spiritual journeys, right? And we can kind of set up expectations, especially me with my religious background, because it's all about daily devotion and praying and all that, right? Um, how do you flow with it now? Right. Do you still have phases where you're not doing anything? And like, what does that look like and how do you move through it? And like, what are the emotions? And is there guilt, shame, all these?

Yeah. So interestingly enough, I just went through a little period where I wasn't doing anything. Um, Last year I was all gung-ho on the moon and like following the cycles of the moon, and I'm still, I'm still watching what that moon is doing. I'm still paying attention to the, the new moon cycles and the full moons, but I was like really, really paying attention to it last year, um, at the beginning of the year. And like, I know we recently just had, and I was thinking about it, I'm like, we just had like a really big like Aquarius and like, I'm Aquarius. I was like, the lunar eclipse and like the new moon and all that stuff. And I was just like, I didn't really do anything. Usually I would have been like, oh, this is a really important moon. I didn't do anything. And I felt kind of guilty. I felt a little bit of shame. And then I was like, I thought back to what I was doing, even when I wasn't paying attention to the fact that it was like, you know, I could be preparing a thing. The day of the eclipse, I actually did, like, without even realizing it, um, I did a cleansing ritual to burn a bunch of papers in my burn bucket that was like old journal prompts of like manifestations from 2009. 2019 that didn't happen. Um, and I was being very specific in the writing about when I wanted it to happen. And the two things that I kept saying over and over in those— the writing that I was doing, um, neither one of them happened. And so I, I like— I found the journal that was basically all the repetitive writings of this like manifestation technique week that I was doing to try to call these things in, and I found it. And I'm just like, I happened to burn it on the day of the full moon, um, like the Aquarius full moon. And I wasn't— I didn't even really think about it, but like with the full moon, it's like, it's a good day to release and let go and like shed things, right? And like shine the light on the things that need to be let go of. And without even realizing it, I had, I had burnt that. So I was sitting here feeling a little bit guilty. I haven't been paying as much attention to these big astrological events and feeling guilty about not being spiritual enough, which, and, you know, like I'm not doing the things to qualify myself as a witch. But then I thought about it and I was like, Oh, wait a minute, I literally did a fire practice to cleanse and burn away these things on a subconscious level without even thinking that today is the day. I just thought, oh, I should finally burn these papers that have been sitting in this bucket for 6 months, and I finally did it on the day. So subconsciously, I feel like back to it, when I think back to those moments of I'm not doing anything, but then I look at the steps that I've taken on those days without realizing that it's those days and being like, somehow some part of me knows because I will either start a new routine or take an action step or burn or release or let go of something on a day where it matters without even thinking about it. So here I was kind of feeling shame for not consciously actively creating, like creating a ritual or doing an intentional practice around the moon or the astrological event or the thing that I was so hyped up on. I'm realizing that it's like you don't have to be regimental. You don't have to, um, be so in-depth with intention around— there's this event, I have to do a thing, I'm not spiritual unless I do this thing on the event. That's not necessarily true. You are still spiritual even if you are not doing the in-depth practices. It's how you carry yourself. It's how you interact with others. It's how you show up to the things that you put your whole heart into. It's how you put your heart into things that shows your level of connection, your level of spirituality. You don't need to create a whole hour-long ritual on the full moon to be considered spiritual. Um, and if you're not doing those things, you don't need to feel guilty about it, because once you've started on this path of spirituality, it tends to find you in the right moments. And even when I'm not paying attention to it, I'll just be like, oh well, I'm gonna go burn this thing, I'm gonna go release this thing. And while I'm doing it, I'm not just like lighting it on fire, like I'm I'm doing breathing exercises, I'm going through the motions without even really putting together a whole ritual or practice, but I am still doing the thing and going through the motions. And it's like I've kind of just come to terms with the fact that I don't need to feel guilty about not the moon or doing all of those things, because when the time is right You move with spirit when spirit calls you to, and sometimes you don't even realize that that's what you're doing. Like, you know, starting the new routine, doing that action step that's going to elevate that next manifestation, doing that thing that's going to open up the door, the opportunity for this new energy to come in. These little tiny things that are like mundane little tasks, or could be considered mundane tasks, can also be seen as spiritual. So I used to beat myself up and feel shame about those moments where I'm doing less, until I realized that even when I'm doing less, I'm still moving with spirit. I'm still doing the thing. It just doesn't look as structured or routine or as intentional as it would if I were to be like, hey guys, let's come together and do a circle for this moon. Like, you know, you don't have to do a whole big thing to be in connection with what the energy needs of you in that moment.

Oh, I love that line, Sarah. I love that line. Oh yeah, that That was fun. Thank you.

Because yeah, I've really been sitting with this recently, like a lot, because I've gone through my deep periods of like, I'm not, I'm not being spiritual. Like, what does this mean for me? Actually doesn't really mean that much, because once you are on the path, Spirit finds you and it, you can't really ignore it. Even when you're like, I'm not being spiritual, it's like, oh wait, what did I do yesterday? Yeah, I burnt some stuff and I went and talked to a tree. And, um, like, you know, those aren't just normal non-spiritual people things. Anyway, how about you, Joy? Well, what do you think about that?

No, I agree with everything you said, Sarah. I agree with it wholeheartedly. And, um, Yeah, I've certainly had phases where I was just not doing the old— the modalities I used to do, or focusing on things I used to really focus. I used to do so much chakra work. Yeah, no, um, do I— I know I still know of chakras. And I, you know, um, for me it's like settling into now, just, um, the flow and like intuiting everything and really just being in the moment. And that for me is an act of spirituality in and of itself, to just be mindful and in the moment. And to not get caught up in the future or how I'm gonna make something happen or blah blah blah, right? Um, I had a moment yesterday where I went to outside the town I'm in into nature, and I'm in a place I've never been before. It's actually where some of my ancestors are from, this county in England, and I— we were walking around this land, this like nature, and instantly I'm like, this land wants to talk to me, this land has something to say. I was there to watch birds, I wasn't there to talk to the land. It just like the psychic stuff was flying off, right? Like, and it was like Oh, okay, we're gonna do this. Yeah, the trees want to tell me something. There's spirits here that want to talk to me. Like, they've been waiting for this. Okay, so I was— I mean, I did look at birds and everything, right? But I was communing with literally this nature the whole time. And it— I was like, wow, I feel like I haven't done a psychic-y seen like that in a while, but I didn't have any guilt or anything, which was nice. Um, but it was like, I get visions all the time, and I think I'm at a point now where they're just so common that they— I don't want to say they've lost their, like, I'm not sure, sparkle or anything. There's— that's not the case, right? They're still the same. Like, when I sit in the quiet and I just feel into myself, I get a visual of myself in a flame and all this. That's spiritual shit. That's spiritual stuff. I'm literally— my third eye working its thing and showing me things, and it happens daily, but Maybe I just heard the word reverence. See, it's happening right now. And it's like I kind of lost the reverence for all these things and almost take them for granted because it's that ingrained in who I am and how I behave and how I just interact with reality, right? Um, so thank you for that. But yeah, it's bringing that back in, I suppose. Um, I know when I was younger and I was a Christian, there was a lot of shame and guilt I would carry on for not reading my Bible or not praying or doing X, Y, and Z. Maybe I personally needed those atheist years to really separate from that because it didn't I did not take that into my spiritual practice when I re-entered, you know, the spiritual world. And, um, I think for a time when I was really working on my chakras and meditating, um, there would be a slight anxiety, like if I couldn't do the whole ritual that I wanted to do every day, or Um, but over the years, that's just kind of loosened, and it's just become this beautiful flow and just a way of living and being.

Yeah, well, you said something at the beginning there that's extremely key for, um, being spiritual, in my opinion, is presence. Um, being present is one of the most important things because so many, so many things, so many opportunities, so many energies, so many different connections and synchronicities can pass you by if you're too focused on the past, too focused on the future, if you're not here right now in this moment being fully aware of what's going on around you. And soaking it in, being part of that energy of this moment, there's so many things that can pass you by, and there's so many things that, um, you can end up, um, just like not seeing, not receiving, um, being totally blind to, um, because you're so wound up in not right now, in another time, another place, another situation. And the beauty of being in this moment and like all of the things that you can find from being in this moment and being present, um, to me that's like one of the most grounded things that you can do is just to be present. And, um, For me, yeah, third eye spirituality, like going up into the ether and all that, is great. But for me, spirituality has been this— or my journey into spirituality has been this really cool mission of figuring out how to be connected to what's going on up here, spirit. But also being so grounded in this moment and in my body and like having those two things meet. Because when I first— when Kevin first started talking to me, when I first started going down the realms of like how to heal yourself with your mind and manifestation techniques and deep meditation stuff and working with chakras and angelic healings and like energy removals and all kinds of stuff like that, um, I was kind of getting into this phase of like spiritual bypassing and being completely ungrounded. And the mission for me has been, how do I connect with what's up here while staying present with what's down here and staying present with what's going on in my body, in my reality, in this moment. And the beauty that has come from connecting to up here from this grounded, present place has been so— um, what's the word? It feels like things kind of came full circle because it was, it was almost like spirituality was missing something for me. Um, until I realized that it was like, I'm not trying to escape my body, I'm not trying to escape this reality, I'm not trying to escape this dimension and go off into some ethos where everything's perfect. I'm trying to bring that energy down into this moment, and that requires an awful lot of presence and an awful lot of grounding. Because yeah, the, um, the woo-woo kind of like ungrounded spirituality stuff that's available and out there that really keeps you out of the present moment and out of your body and sends you into the ethers, so to speak, like to me that's kind of treading on like dangerous spirituality because it's Um, it's the type of spirituality that can be easily manipulated. Um, it's the type of spirituality where, you know, people can easily be taken advantage of. It's like, kind of equate it to like cult mentality, so to speak, where it's like there's something that you're following, there's something that it's like, I have to give myself away to this, and follow this, and it's like you're not grounded. Something that's not true because you're not grounded. You're just looking for something outside of yourself. Um, I'm kind of going off on a little bit of a thing here, but for me, um, the groundedness and the presence is extremely important. When it comes to spirituality, and I don't feel like that's talked about as much. So yeah, you talking about presence opened this all up.

Well, maybe we need to have another episode just on grounding and like that. We'll have to file that away for ourselves.

But yeah, it's— I feel like it's really important aspect of spirituality that especially when you're talking to like New Age, um, yeah, practitioners. It's, it's not really talked about, um, and if it is, it's not really made as important as all of the crown chakra stuff and like all of the escape to another dimension and become somebody that you're not kind of thing, like be the person you've always wanted to be by not being yourself. Like, it doesn't feel— I don't know, it feels not right.

Well, I mean, we'll just go down this tangent because why not?

I mean, we're supposed to be talking about our stories, but we don't have to. It just kind of—

well, like to me, like, for better, for worse, however you want to word it, we're in this reality. We chose this reality. You're here, your body's here. You and I both know how to astral travel and undo all these things. They're fun, they're amazing. You can have gorgeous experiences. We're not negating that, right? Another episode just on all that. But it's why, why, what's the purpose? Is it, you know, is it to escape? That's, that's bypass— that's not— you gotta sit with that if that's your reason. What are you trying to escape, right? This reality? Oh, okay. Yeah, um, yeah, it's just because it's fun. There's— and to sit with those reasons without judgment, right? Yeah, that's your thing. Um, I think, yeah, I really agree. Grounding is— you've always been an advocate of grounding. You've certainly helped me when I needed grounding. I very much appreciate it. Yeah, because, yeah, it's needed. Um, hmm, where do we want to go with this now, Sarah? We got, oh, like 10 minutes left, I think, if we want.

Yeah, I think, um, if the people that are out there listening to this podcast are just starting out on their spiritual journey. You're not sure where to begin. Don't put pressure on yourself. Explore, have fun, play around with it. See what feels right for you. Like Joy was saying, be present. Really get yourself in the moment. Really feel into how your body is feeling in the moment. Notice where your thoughts go in the moment. Um, if you're in a room full of people and all of a sudden your body is giving you the signal that it's time to go home or something's not right here, that in itself is a spiritual experience. That's your intuition speaking up. So follow what your gut is saying, even if it doesn't make sense. Um, that in itself is a spiritual practice, is just listening to those nudges, listening to your body, um, and showing up for your body in the way that it needs you to. Um, that might not sound like a spiritual practice, but it is, because spirit cannot exist without the body. Well, spirit can exist without the body, but the body cannot exist without spirit housing it, or to house it. Um, so if you're on this journey, don't put too much pressure on yourself to make it look a certain way. Move with what feels right and make sure that you are keeping track of what your body is saying in the process. How do you feel? Are you getting these nudges telling you no? Are you getting these nudges telling you yes? Um, are you feeling excitement? Are you feeling fear? Um, just sitting with those feelings as you're changing, as you're growing, as you're exploring these new things is really going to help you, um, tune in to the type of spirituality that makes sense for you. So what makes sense for somebody else might not be good for you. So just keep that awareness of yourself. Don't, um, don't keep yourself in situations longer than you need to be. Especially when it comes to spirituality, because there's all kinds of things out there that offer spirituality. Doesn't mean they're good, it doesn't mean they're right, and even if they are, it doesn't mean they're right for you. So having that presence with your body and being able to tell when you're in the right place is, um, is really important. So if that's all you're doing right now is listening to your body's yes and no cues, that's okay. And let that be your spiritual practice. It doesn't have to be some big crazy ritual.

Well, it's a journey.

Yeah, exactly.

And I've been sitting with that and how You really just gotta flow with it. Um, I know I had phases where it was more learning how to use my chakras and activate that Merkaba and go, but I would have these experiences, right, usually with unconditional love and just getting blasted with it and various, various entities. I'm just showing things. The real purpose was to embody that and integrate that, and that's where I'm at now. So I don't really need to go do that astral traveling. Um, but that was part of the journey, right? That was part of the learning process. So, um, I guess my last two cents would be to just stay open, stay open to where it flows and goes. And if you're into one modality and then it kind of tapers and you move into some— that's freaking fine. That's fine. That's how your soul's discovering and moving and growing. So it's all beautiful.

The—

as the, the main objective— if I don't know if I like that language, but we'll stick with it— is to embody all the things you're taking in when you are on this journey, the healing, the, you know, psychic experiences, the astral traveling, whatever cool thing you're doing, right? The breathwork, whatever, is embodying that peace and calm and essentially just learning how to be present.

Exactly.

But, um, I believe— let me pull this up— we're gonna have our meeting on March 21st. Yeah, I'm looking at my calendar so I know that's true. And, um, we're gonna do a meditation and a ritual kind of on this topic. That's why we do the thing first, so we kind of know where we've flowed with it. But I know I created the meditation today, and it's really just about reflecting on this, on your journey. And you walk with the you who started it and the you now, and you hold hands and you kind of do a review and a gratitude of this, the whole windy bit of it all.

Right.

Yeah. And it sounds beautiful. Yeah. And then if your intuition, if your gut's giving you a yes, come on down, join us, come hang out.

It's a monthly event, um, and I'll be putting together a little ritual for it as well, um. I feel like I was going to do a, um, I was going to do something different, but I feel like now it's being grounded with yourself is going to be the ritual part of it. And, um, yeah, maybe I'll just do like a little grounding ritual to go with your meditation.

Floated up today, so that Yeah, I think that works, Sarah.

Starting from the ground up.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, that was one thing, um, that I felt was really, really important that I wish I knew sooner in my spiritual journey. Um, you get a lot of talk about the upper chakras, the third eye, the crown, expansion, wanting to be able to see and like receive all those beautiful things from Spirit, um, and like through— see through the veil of the alternate dimensions and everything. However, that can become a dangerous place if you're not grounded and you have a lot of old traumas and old wounds and things lingering in your lower energy centers. So for me blasting open my third eye and my crown with my lower chakras is something that I'm glad I did it the way that I did it, but I wish somebody had told me before, um, start with the root and work your way up. Start playing around with the energy of how your lower energy centers feel, that center of safety, that center of groundedness. Then moving into that life force, that creative energy, and then the willpower, the confidence, the sense of self, and then into the heart, and then into the throat and the third eye and all of that. That would have provided me a much more solid foundation. And my advice to anybody else who's just starting on a spiritual journey, if you're going to be playing with the chakras, start with the root. I know it's powerfully unsexy. I know a lot of people don't talk about all the great things that you can do if you connect to your root chakra. That's not really what you hear, right? It's just about getting grounded and connecting to your body and connecting to Earth and being present. That is key, because when you are at home in your body and present in your body, these big profound spiritual experiences can find you and you could hold yourself in them without getting lost in them and potentially opening up the door for things like spiritual psychosis. So if you're just starting out and you're playing around with the chakras and you're on your spiritual journey, have some fun digging into safety, digging into presence and grounding with the root chakra. Don't be afraid to start at the bottom and work yourself up. It's actually the healthiest way to do it, and it's something that I wish I knew sooner. So just gonna leave that with you guys today.

Beautiful. Thank you, Sarah. No, that needs to be said, and I completely agree. And now we have all these ideas for more audio, which we will eventually get to. But thank you, everybody, for for joining us, and we will see you next month.

Thanks, everybody.

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