Embracing the Spiritual Path

As a holistic coach, I coach around the four levels of what makes a whole human being. The physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of how we live our lives and operate in the world.  I love this way of investigating how and where we get stuck, because human beings are dynamic in nature and oftentimes the sticky area is not obvious.  Especially so for the person who is stuck in problematic behavior.

Once I learned this way of processing how we operate, I continued to use it every day on myself.  Upon waking each morning I do a quick scan: What do I need physically today? How am I feeling? How are the quality of my thoughts? Am I feeling connected to my soul?

It’s a fairly straightforward approach, but many people get hung up with the spiritual level. People misunderstand this level because they often confuse spirituality with religion, rules, a moral checklist or write it off entirely as woo woo nonsense. The spiritual level of our being in the world is none of those things.  Our relationship to our spiritual self is deeply personal and such a gift when we understand how we uniquely identify with it.

Are you someone who tends to look outside yourself for answers rather than tuning into your own inner wisdom? Spirituality is more about self-awareness and understanding your unique connection to the world, God, Source, the Universe, or whatever you perceive as greater than yourself.

Being connected to this level is not about striving for perfection or higher states of being, or believing that spiritual growth means always being calm, kind, or wise. In reality, living the spiritual path often involves embracing your flaws, sitting with uncomfortable emotions, and recognizing that the messy, imperfect parts of you are just as sacred as the enlightened ones.  Ultimately, it’s about uncovering who you already are, beneath all the layers of conditioning and fear. It’s less about “finding” and more about “remembering.”

Sometimes there is a point in life when you might sense an undeniable pull, a surge within your spirit that can no longer be ignored. The reflex can be anything from a fleeting moment of inspiration, or an inner stirring, to a restlessness that  continually whispers, or a louder, sustained call to awaken to the next stage of life with deeper meaning and purpose. Conversely, spiritual depletion manifests as discontent or longing for change or feeling like something is missing. Fantasizing about changing jobs, moving cities, or seeking new relationships, but without clarity on why those changes are seducing you.

When a spiritual call to action presents itself, ignoring it feels like sinking into quicksand. If you don’t respond, you risk being swallowed by the weight of stagnation, trapped in cycles of aimlessness, loneliness, and a quiet, ongoing hunger for love and connection.

I love this quote from the Gospel of Thomas:

If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.

When you don’t heed the call of spiritual inspiration, you find yourself chasing love, joy, and purpose from the outside, yet still feeling separate from the very things you desire. It’s like standing outside a house, peering through the window, watching everyone else bask in warmth and light, wondering why you don’t have access.

Dedication to observing the spiritual level will uncover untapped strength, wisdom, and connection to something far greater than yourself.  As Yoga Nanda so perfectly describes it,  “Once you step foot on the spiritual path, nothing happens by coincidence”. Every encounter, challenge, and breakthrough is a part of a larger unfolding. You can’t help but see that life isn’t happening to you, it’s happening for you.

If you want to work on the spiritual level, get clear on one essential question: How do you want to feel?  Not what do I want to achieve, acquire, or prove, but feel. For me, I wanted to feel calm, connected, and embodied.  Instead of searching for these feelings outside of myself, I learned how to access my own internal compass towards these states of being.

Building a daily spiritual practices throughout the day can produce noticeable shifts in how you are experiencing your life.  Create space for silence and stillness, even if it is just 10 minutes a day at times. Practice gratitude and heart coherence, not just as a mental exercise but as an embodied feeling. Start looking at everything as a lesson. If something is upsetting, ask What is this here to teach me?  A delay or disappointment can be trusted as redirection, not rejection. This mindset shift changes everything.

The more I practiced living intentionally this way, the less I felt separate from love, connection, or abundance. These are states of being I have the power to activate within myself. When I feel connected to my inner self, my relationships with others is deeper and richer. When I feel love radiating from within, I encounter love everywhere I go. And when I trust life’s timing, I can (mostly, sometimes) let go of the need to force or control outcomes.

Living intentionally through the spiritual level is a daily practice. It means knowing in your bones that what you need from others or the outside world can be created within yourself.  It means viewing every experience, every person, as a spiritual teacher. Some lessons are gentle; others are hard. But trusting that all of them are essential.

The spiritual path is not about enlightenment or cutting yourself off from society to meditate or pray in isolation. It’s about presence. It’s about remembering that you are already whole. The moment you commit to the spiritual path, you realize that every coincidence is, in fact, divine orchestration. Every challenge is an initiation. Every moment, a chance to realign.

I’m still on this path, and of course I always will be. I walk it with intention. I move through life in a spiritually supportive way, rooted in love, trust in the universe, and the knowledge that I am never separate from what I seek. Everything I desire is already within me. Deep in our unconscious, our spiritual potential lies in wait for us to release it, if we have the courage to clear our own obstacles and unleash it. .