During these unusual and uncertain times,
I have created many podcasts to share the resources I used on my healing journey.
This is Tammy Atman of The Stuck Stops here.
Many of you right now may not be able to attend your place of religious worship,
So I thought spirituality might be a helpful topic to cover.
In 2014,
I hit rock bottom really hard.
During my recovery from severe depression and crippling anxiety,
I discovered a world of resources on the internet.
Simply put,
Google saved my life.
Don't laugh.
Many of us right now are sheltering in place with no distractions and also no escape.
This forced stillness can be torturous for some of us and painful for those still grappling with the effects of a toxic childhood as an adult.
I'm hoping to alleviate some of that pain by providing perspective and resources to begin your healing journey or be the wind at your back if you are already on a path to authentic spiritual awakening.
I truly hope these short podcasts resonate.
I tried to cover a lot of ground in a succinct way so you can heal in place and fill your still.
Today's podcast is dedicated to Alethea Luna and Matteo Sol.
They currently live in Western Australia and their mission is to help those experiencing the dark night of the soul's spiritual awakening process or existential crisis embrace their inner lone wolf and walk the path less traveled.
I am sharing today how the information on their website,
Lonerwolf.
Com,
Helped me.
They are deeply drawn to helping those who are feeling alone become empowered,
Healed and inspired to follow their soul's true purpose through the practice of inner work.
Their goal is to provide a grounded and balanced perspective of spirituality that doesn't bypass the raw,
Real and messy aspects of spiritual growth and self-awareness.
They strive towards integration,
Balance,
Wholeness and embracing both the sacred and wild aspects of being human.
Quote,
Spiritual awakenings are the soul's cry for freedom.
If you have experienced a spiritual awakening,
You have come to see through the lies and illusions of this world.
Deep in your soul,
You realize that nothing external has ever and can ever bring you true happiness or fulfillment.
This profound realization leaves you craving for something richer,
More fulfilling and something that will make you feel whole once again.
Quote by Alethea Luna.
And this was very accurate for me.
Spirituality,
As I see it,
Involves digging deep,
Looking inward and getting in touch with the inner self and inner child through any combination of private prayer,
Yoga,
Meditation,
Quiet reflection,
Art,
Stillness or time spent in nature.
Spiritual quests take people in mysterious ways towards unknown destinations.
Uncertainty is actually a good thing here.
My quest began in 2014 when I hit rock bottom.
I asked myself some big questions.
How did I get here?
What role did I play in my own unhappiness?
Who am I?
What is my life purpose?
Broadly defined,
Spirituality is a way of life in which a person seeks to connect their true self,
Connect to their true self.
Spirituality is a sense of connection to something bigger than how my past defined me.
I was constantly terrified most of my life that I would be found boring and just not good enough if I was just being myself.
I hustled hard for acceptance,
Trying to make myself more valuable,
Admirable and lovable in everybody else's eyes.
I believed I would be dismissed and overlooked unless I convincingly marketed myself as something exceptional.
It was exhausting and it almost killed me.
I had to face the cause of that exhaustion head on and deal with the pain in order to understand myself and discover how I authentically fit into the rest of the world.
Spirituality is extremely personal.
It means something different for everyone.
There is no one true spiritual path.
You can experience being spiritual when you enjoy listening to music,
Looking at art,
Reading a book,
Writing a poem.
You can experience spiritual moments when you walk through the woods,
Go fishing,
Connect with nature,
Walk on a beach or see the sunset.
You can experience a connection with others when you work together to reach a common goal,
Such as raising money to help those in need,
Playing on a sports team,
Being part of a band,
An orchestra or a singing group,
Or anything that involves teamwork and cooperation with others and being part of something bigger than yourself.
If you are experiencing a spiritual awakening,
I strongly recommend incorporating some kind of psychological work and research.
This could be seeing a therapist,
Utilizing the online resources that I've listed on my website,
Or reading self-help books or watching videos.
Whatever you choose,
Doing something is better than remaining stuck in a bad place.
A big step in recovering from childhood emotional neglect and emotional abuse is to flush out the well-entrenched family toxins rather than letting them accumulate and boil in your mind,
Heart and soul.
This is your life and your path,
And your healing choices need to resonate you on a very deep,
Authentic core level with you.
It needs to feel true and very real.
Spirituality is a direct experience.
It's not a belief.
It's not an organized practice.
It's something that I practice every day.
To me,
Spirituality is about evolving and waking up.
It's a force you cannot see,
But you can feel it when you're ready.
It's about finding out who I am and moving beyond the labels that my family sadly gave me.
It's about doing and being,
Building up self-worth,
Tearing down old walls,
And experiencing truly the very core of who and what I am.
It's about constantly evolving,
Maturing,
And healing.
If you cultivate your body,
Mind,
Emotions,
And energies just like you would a garden,
Something else blossoms within you.
That is what spirituality is,
And I took these previous two sentences off one of the articles from Aletheia Luna and Matteo Sol.
It's fantastic,
And you can find it on their website.
I have spent the last six years rebuilding my spirit,
Soul,
Healing,
And rediscovering who I was supposed to be before all the toxic generational chaos crushed it.
Scientists have found again and again that those with a spiritual practice tend to be happier than those who don't.
There are plenty of studies out there in all the articles that I've read that suggest even small amounts of meditation can help with anxiety,
Depression,
And pain.
How can one become more spiritual?
These are some of the tactics that I've used myself and the strategies that you can find in articles such as the website Psychology Today.
And pretty much everybody that's an expert in the areas of healing talk about the following tips.
Taking time for yourself,
Rejuvenate your spirit,
Nurture yourself by doing positive things like listening to music,
Reading,
Art,
Puzzles,
Yoga,
Sewing,
Cooking,
Gardening,
Stretching,
Hiking,
Anything that elicits a positive,
Calming experience for you.
Help those in need.
When you help others,
You automatically connect better with yourself and the rest of humanity.
Volunteer,
Coach,
Donate.
Connect with someone that you care about,
Not a toxic family member,
But ask somebody who is a positive impact in your life.
Ask them how they're doing and ask them like you mean it.
Everyone wants to hear that someone is genuinely thinking about them.
Practice gratitude.
There are so many things in life to be grateful for.
Take time to reflect on what's going well and acknowledge how fortunate we are to have the family that we have that's good for us,
The friends that bring out the best in us,
And the endless opportunities that we've taken and have yet to take.
Practice mindfulness.
Being aware of your environment is very healthy.
Being aware how you're behaving within your environment,
How you're reacting to your environment is very healthy.
Enjoy colors,
Smells,
Sights,
Sounds.
Enjoy the feel of rain,
Sun,
Snow,
Trees whistling in the air,
Air,
A nap,
Wind blowing on your face.
Go for a bike ride.
It will put you in a revitalizing,
Fresh state of awareness.
Practice patience.
Patience contributes to spirituality by encouraging you to be deliberate and reflective.
It also generates a calm frame of mind.
And patience and anger go hand in hand.
I learned that the hard way.
Express yourself.
If you don't already engage in artistic or emotive,
Healthy,
Emotive activities,
Learn to dance.
Make something.
Study a topic that interests you.
Learn to play an instrument.
Teach yourself another language.
Engage in creative writing.
Write a journal.
Take lessons in painting.
Doing this puts you in touch with your creative right side of the brain.
We all need to balance the logical,
Linear aspects of our life.
And it took me way too long to figure this one out.
Being aware of and cultivating spirituality contributes to our overall joy and happiness.
And it's never too late to develop it.
I am much more content and fulfilled since I started devoting part of my life to psychology,
Writing lyrics,
And podcasting.
I'm Tammy Atman.
I am with the Stuck Stops here.
I hope these podcasts help you during these scary and anxious times.
If there's a topic you would like me to cover,
Email me at thestuckstopshereatgmail.
Com.
And please visit lonerwolf.
Com.
I'm on their mailing list,
And it is a wonderful,
Inspiring source of information.
Talk to you again soon.
