The Top 5 Misconceptions About Spiritual (personal) Growth

Some of these you will have heard before because they’ve been the themes of other blogs. But even if you know these concepts, have humility (be open) when reading them because you may hear things on a deeper level, or you may be reminded of something you had forgotten.
 
 
The top 5 misconceptions about spiritual (personal) growth:
 
 
1: It’s all rainbows and unicorns. 
 
There’s a large misconception that if you’re truly spiritual, you have to be positive all the time, you can’t think a negative thought or you’ll create it, and everything is love and light. That’s simply not true. 
 
You’ve read my other blogs, you know you have to deal with your shadow, your ego, your negative patterns and beliefs. You can’t just “poof” them away with fairy dust. While that would be wonderful, you have to take responsibility for, and work through, your dark to truly be more of your light. You can’t just ignore your dark or pretend it doesn’t exist- like a little kid scrunching their eyes shut and covering their ears saying, “La la la, I can’t see you, I can’t hear you.” The point is to call it out and actively bring it to the light. 
 
You’re going to hit days when you’re in pity or rage or judgment. That’s OK, it’s part of the process here on this planet. The goal is to work through those emotions and get yourself back to a centered, grounded, and empowered place. You cannot be positive when you’re furious inside. You have to be honest with your emotions, and yourself, and work through what’s infuriating you. (see previous blog on the ladder of emotions)
 
So while rainbows and unicorns are fabulous, it’s not what growth is all about. 
 
 
2: If you’re spiritual, you will be/must be perfect.
 
Being human is messy, as noted above. You can be super conscious, super present, and still have a day where you’re an absolute mess. You will still have heartache, you will still have traumas. Why? Because you’re human! It doesn’t mean that you’re not spiritual enough, it means that you are spiritual being having a human experience and the human experience goes from the lightest light to the darkest dark. From love and joy, to pain and loneliness. Perfection is a concept of the negative ego, stop trying to attain it and let yourself be the full range of you. With responsibility!
 
You don’t have to dive bomb into fear that you aren’t doing it “right.” 

The negative ego will tell you that you’ll be “fixed,” and nothing bad will happen to you when you’re on a spiritual path. And if it does, you did something wrong, such as your thoughts weren’t pure enough, your chakras weren’t cleaned enough, you didn’t meditate enough- etc etc. These are lies, pure and simple.
 
You’re worthy, even when you aren’t doing it “right.”
 
 
3: Everyone in the spiritual growth community is conscious and doing their work. 
 
I still get surprised by this one every so often; stunned by spiritual "leaders" who spout platitudes and can’t recognize when they’re melting down in their own negative ego. 
 
Everyone is learning lessons the way they need, but it doesn’t mean they’re doing the work necessary to grow. (See previous blog here)

Own your power and trust your instincts. Not everyone has integrity.
 
“Be careful not to wear your spiritualism as a badge to decorate your ego.” -Author unknown.
 
There are no better thans. Beware anyone who says otherwise.
 
 
4:  You’ll be healthy all the time.
 
I hear this one a lot: “If they’re so spiritual, why’d they get sick?” Or, “How come they can’t cure themselves?” Hello- remember? Human, not God. Being spiritual doesn’t equal perfect health. There may be pain and illness, and that could be part of one’s transformation or the way they’ll best learn and grow. Do not judge them, or yourself, for any illness. You’re not perfect (see number 2). Bodies are dense and yes, they get sick. 
 
  
5: You work through something once and then you’re done. 
 
There is no end date; this is a lifelong pursuit. You will always be learning and growing because that’s what you came here for! Yes it’d be nice to hit a core issue and think that’s it, you’re forever whole/healed/transformed, but there’s always more. 
 
Before you get discouraged, think of it this way: The Universe is always expanding which means you are too. When I say there’s always more, how about looking at that more as more positive growth versus dealing with more self-pity etc. How about more love you could let into your life, more joy, more creativity? Why not let the more be something fabulous? It doesn’t mean you won’t need to ever deal with i.e. self-pity again, it means you focus on what you want to create once you’ve done your work and released the blockages etc.
 
 

 

Spirituality is having a personal relationship between you and the Universe/God/Goddess/Source. It’s not needing to like tarot cards, crystals, or wear only white. You don’t have to do yoga or do juice cleanses. You don’t have to use certain ways of speaking. You can love all these things or none of them, and it doesn’t change the core of what spirituality is. No one can be more spiritual than another person, that’s simply the negative ego speaking. 

Remember, spiritual growth doesn’t mean everything is always easy for you; it means as you do your work, you’ll be able to create much more ease and elegance in your life. And when it’s hard, you’ll be able to recognize why and work through the issues. It doesn’t mean you’ll never get stuck again, it simply means you'll be able to figure a way out.