The 13 Biggest Myths You Have Been Told About What it Means to be ‘Spiritual’

HJ: While these may be referred to as ‘Myths’ in the article below, and they most certainly are not necessarily true, in reality they are limiting beliefs that we have picked up along the course of our lives.  Furthermore, they are widely held limiting beliefs that are constantly reinforced by a largely unconscious society who believe them to be accurate and true, which makes the illusions they create in ones life even harder to recognize.  They typically go unchallenged and so articles like these are important to bring one face to face with realities they may otherwise be avoiding acknowledging exist within themselves   My suggestion is that one begin reading this article by turning their focus onto themselves and consciously suspending the ego’s tendency to shield itself from the transformative power of introspection.  The automatic tendency in these situations is to deny their applicability to the self.  Accept that you may indeed by under the hypnotic spell of one or more of these myths/limiting beliefs.  They are only hindering you from a more full expression of yourself.  Your ego may squirm and protest accepting that what is presented does not fit into the comfortable worldview it has painted for itself and may even contradict what you believe to be true — this is a great sign!  It means you are uncovering a limiting belief and now that it has been consciously identified, it can be examined and eliminated from your perception permanently, allowing you to reacher greater states of self-realization.

Amanda takes a lighthearted approach to identifying these belief systems, but be advised, she is touching on potentially deeply held limiting beliefs. Don’t let her lighthearted tone fool you into thinking that these beliefs are trivial or unimportant.  They can very much dictate your experience of reality…

– Truth

By Amanda Christian | Amanda Christian

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I feel like “spiritual” is a bit of a buzzword these days.

What does it actually mean?

More importantly, what does it mean to you?

After talking with a few of my friends, I realized that there are a lot of myths, guidelines and rules floating around on what it means to be a spiritual person.

I think it’s time to bust through these rules, throw away the excuses and start transforming ourselves, and as a result, the world.

Who made the rules anyway?

Myth 1: Spiritual people should always be happy

There is nothing spiritual about acting happy if you are not. You’re only delaying yourself.

Instead, just feel your feelings so that you can release them, but make sure you understanding that you created them.

If you acknowledge that you have the power to create the feeling, they you also acknowledge you have the power to release it.

As you transition from one way of thinking to another, which is essentially what spirituality teaches you to do, it’s kind of unrealistic to think that you won’texperience moments of fear and discomfort.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is recognizing and feeling your fear, and then moving through it to the peace behind.

Myth 2: You have to meditate all the time

Meditation is a wonderful tool that can really enhance your connection to your higher Self, but in my opinion, it is not a requirement.

I personally go through phases where I really crave sitting down and meditating.

Other times I enjoy a more active form of meditation such as running or writing.

The point of meditation is to connect with your inner guide and the present moment. I have found that there are many ways of doing this. Mediation is one way.

That being said, why not give it a try?

This guided morning meditation is a good place to start if you’re interested.

Myth 3: Spiritual people are kind of weird.

You can think that.

And guess what? I still love you.

That is just a thought you chose to have. If you believe it, then you will have the perception that people on a spiritual path are weird, and that’s totally cool.

Just know that you can choose again. And with a different perception, you will have a different experience.

Myth 4: You’re better than people who don’t have a spiritual practice

If you think that being “spiritual” makes you more special that anyone else, I will tell you right now, you are not really spiritual yourself.

Myth 5: You have to analyze your past so you can release it

Analyzing makes things seem complicated. This is a quick and straight path to fear and actually staying stuck.

Instead, just become willing to release your past. Your inner guide will take care of the how and help you to see things in a different way.

When you become willing to release the chains of your past, you will receive the help you need to do it. Maybe it comes in the from of a book or phone conversation.

The point is, all you have to do is become willing, don’t start analyzing the past thinking you need to “figure it all out”.

[smartads]

Myth 6: You have to know it all, before you start to teach

Honestly, you will probably never know it all and you teach all day long through your actions.

Saying you need to learn more before you can teach or blog is just a way you are delaying yourself.

Ideas grow stronger when they are shared. By teaching, you strengthen what you are teaching.

This website is a place where we share ideas. Feel free to get involved in the comments below.

Myth 7: Spiritual people are a bunch of “out there hippies”.

I will refer you back to myth 3.

If by “out there hippy” you mean someone who gets all zenned out and just lets life pass by while sitting on some artificially happy cloud, then yes, this is a myth.

If instead you mean someone who is living a productive exciting life beyond their wildest dreams, then this is not a myth.

Spirituality is about waking up to who you truly are. It is about releasing all the chains you imprison yourself with so that you can be a productive, independent, happy, and peaceful person who lives a life you love that’s beyond your wildest dreams.

Key words: living a productive life you love

Myth 8: Spirituality is serious business. You have to take it seriously.

Personally, I’d rather be a happy learner than a serious learner.

As you start your spiritual journey, you are going to make mistakes, that’s why forgiveness is the name of the game.

You will progress much faster if you have fun along the way. This is not to say that I don’t take my spiritual practice seriously. I am seriously committed to practicing and learning everyday, but I have a lot of fun while doing it.

It is something in my life that brings me joy, not something I feel like I have to do.

Big difference.

Myth 9: Its complicated

What I’m about to tell you may shock you: the truth is simple.

We try to make it complicated so we have an excuse not to practice it.

Excuses begone!

Myth 10: It sounds like some good abstract theory, but there is no practical application

For me, every moment of my life provides me an opportunity to choose love instead of fear, and therefore, practice.

We are walking around inside our own minds. In other words, everything you see is a reflection of your own thinking.

That person at work who you think is really annoying you, yup, that’s a practical application right there.

Myth 11: Being spiritual means just thinking positive

There is a lot of buzz nowadays about how if you just think positive and visualize, you can manifest anything you want.

It is definitely true you can manifest things beyond your wildest dreams, but we have to be willing to look at the blocks we have put up against those things.

If you really want a loving relationship, but deep down don’t feel like you deserve love, then it probably wont show up because it would defy a core belief you have about yourself. You have to remove the blocks.

This is what a spiritual practice helps you do.

Myth 12: It’s a lot of work.

Cop out.

Refer to myth 9.

Myth 13: You can’t appreciate material things such as money and clothes

Why not?

There is a huge difference between being attached to external things because you think they will fill a void in your life, and just enjoying them because you can.

Having the belief that spiritual people can’t enjoy money is a blockage. Take a look at this belief and ask yourself if it makes you feel good.

If not, toss it. It only seems true to you because you believe it.

At the end of the day, your spiritual practice is unique to you. One way of practicing might work for you, but not for someone else. For me spirituality is about connecting with my inner guidance and learning to distinguish between the voice for fear and the voice for love and then choosing love. Soon you will realize there is no choice. Only love it real, everything else is an illusion.

What does spirituality mean to you? Please let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you. If you liked this post please share it with your friends!

keep sailing towards love,

Amanda