The Spiritual Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery

“The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love.”

• Marianne Williamson

Ever wondered why you were put on this earth? What is the meaning of life? What is it that everyone is chasing in their lifetime – happiness, love, or perhaps, inner peace? Why do the most pragmatic of people have experiences that cannot be completely explained by science and logic? Maybe, the answers to all these questions lie in spirituality?

Spirituality seems like a heavily loaded word, something only those with the highest levels of wisdom and the largest pools of knowledge can understand. But it isn’t that complicated. What is the meaning of spirituality? You can define spirituality as you have felt or lived it! Anybody can have any interpretation of spirituality based on how they experience it and how it brings meaning to their life. 

In its most modern avatar, spirituality can be defined as the search for a meaning or purpose of life. A spiritual journey is a continuous path of learning about oneself, seeking inner peace, and wanting to be connected to something bigger than yourself. 

The starting point of a spiritual journey is usually self-discovery. Once you start understanding who you are, you might notice that something shifts within you – perhaps a new lens to see life with or a desire to understand the world better. This may be defined as a spiritual awakening, the realisation of a higher consciousness beyond the ordinary and materialistic. 

If you keep at it, this journey of spiritual growth continues with you coming to terms with past trauma and emotional wounds and seeking spiritual healing through self-acceptance and forgiveness. With healing and acceptance of oneself comes a deep sense of inner peace and a spiritual connection with those around you. 

You may also start to feel connected to a higher power in whichever form you imagine it to be. You would notice that it becomes easy to be kind and loving to others, to realise how we are all the same, on a similar journey in life. This all-embracing unconditional love for all of existence is known as “universal love”.

Words like higher consciousness, divine wisdom, or universal love sound may seem contrived and inflated if you are not on your spiritual journey yet or are just starting. However, you do not have to use the same words, or abide by the literal meanings of these words to start your journey. What matters is that you allow yourself to be led whole-heartedly by where this path takes you and whatever concept you do not agree with – need not be your travel companion thereafter. 

The spiritual journey is not easy or linear. However, with time and consistency, living with spirituality and deep awareness becomes effortless. This does not mean that there will be no doubts or challenges in your path, only that you will be able to handle them with strength and resilience. 

Let’s talk about the stepping stone in the journey of spiritual growth- self-discovery. Why is self-discovery such an important part of spirituality? It is simply because until we know ourselves, it is not possible to truly know anyone else or anything else. When you know what fulfills you, you can find out what you want from life and what you can give to life. Self-discovery is the trigger for a spiritual awakening in most individuals. 

It is important to know who you are – the simplest and the most complex characteristics you embody. And mind you, when you think of “Who am I?”, you cannot define yourself with reference to your qualifications, your job, or even your relationships. Who you are beyond these roles and brackets is the actual you. 

You may have grown up with the conditioning, beliefs, and external influences you received from the family, society, or culture around you. However, those beliefs need not be your beliefs. The person left behind when you peel away each layer of conditioning, bias, and limiting beliefs, that is your true essence and authentic self. The term “soul-searching” is truly that. Searching for what makes up your soul, the deepest part of you – parts of you that the world cannot pollute, cannot dilute. 

When you truly question everything you know about yourself, when you spend time with yourself without the noise of the world, you get to know aspects about yourself that may initially surprise you because you may have told yourself a different story all this while. Take time to know yourself – what do you believe in, what makes you happy, what are your strengths and weaknesses are, and what gives your life meaning. It is not about learning to be a new person, rather it is about unlearning everything else so you can go back to be who you were always meant to be. 

How do you bring about self-discovery when you are new to spirituality and new to this journey? 

Is there help available or do you have to figure it out all on your own? Know that help is always available. Spiritual guidance is always just an ask away. Start with the simplest of spiritual practices – meditation and yoga. Being completely present in the moment, physically and mentally, trying to cut out all the excess noise, external or internal, can help you look inward and introspect. 

These practices cannot just be for the sake of “performance” though. You have to engage in these spiritual practices with self-awareness and mindfulness, and slowly, with patience and resilience, your thoughts, your being, will become clearer to you.

So, what are you waiting for? Want to know who you actually are beneath that cloak of what people say you are? Wondering where to start your spiritual journey? Read other blogs on our website or watch this video on YouTube to learn more.