So you came to the world of wellness and spirituality to gain clarity and find your truth amidst all the noise and paradox of the world? And you arrived only to find there are so many opposing messages that come from the spiritual, self-help, and philosophy world as well? Yep, I hear you. It can feel overwhelming, confusing and disheartening. Where to turn? What do you do when everyone is screaming their conflicting truths and advice from the rooftop?
Here are some examples of conflicting spiritual messages:
- Self-care vs. seek care/help from others
- Depth vs. lightness
- Fear is an illusion/ego vs. fear is a valuable tool to keep us safe
- Invigoration vs. relaxation
- Focus on the positives vs. focus on your shadow work (healing/bettering the challenging aspects of you/your life)
- Surrender vs. take initiative
- You're perfect vs. improve yourself
- Love your enemy unconditionally vs. give love only where deserved
- Set healthy boundaries vs. embrace oneness
- Ground yourself vs. go out of body to access the higher realms
So what's right? What's wrong?
What if I told you they're all right and none are wrong?
Spiritual teacher, Teal Swan says "the only objective truth is that truth is subjective."
There are many opposing truths and they are all fluid.
Truth is like water. It brings clarity, even magnification, and feeds all life. Yet it takes so many different forms. Some water stays the same, some changes over time, but it's all still water. No water is wrong. Fluid.
It all depends on who you are, where you are, and the situation you're in. Only you know what's best for you.
Finding your truth takes self-check in and self-trust.
Where am I? What feels like the medicine I need right now? Can I trust that I know me best?
Your truth could change decade to decade, year to year, month to month, day to day, or minute to minute. Stay attentive. Listen.
You know my motto: there is no one-size-fits-all; There's not even a one-size-fits-you.
What if we looked at these truths the way we looked at the breath? There's a time for inhale and a time for exhale. A time for heaviness and a time for lightness. A time for depth and a time to explore the shallows. A time for relaxation and a time for invigoration. A time for contraction and a time for expansion.
Like yin needs yang, darkness needs light and the sun needs the moon.
All of this is wisdom. We need it all, but sometimes one takes a dominance or needs to be leaned into more.
There's a word for this in Hawaiian: lokahi. It means balance, harmony and oneness of all opposing forces.
Journal:
Read those opposing truths again, write the ones that feel true to you where you are right now. Know it can and will change. What truth feels like your medicine?
Example: Self-care has always been my medicine/truth - it came from years of needing to see my own worth and discovering independence, but as I've mastered self-care, I've realized I have completely stopped relying on others. Independence is now my middle name. My spiritual truth and medicine is to learn to allow others to care for me. It's changed.
Try this meditation:
- Set a timer for 5 minutes
- Take 3 deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth
- Silently use this mantra: Lokahi
