My Editor’s Picks from Illuminating Stories that I Consider Spiritual

Plus my reader’s picks of spiritual stories across the Mediumverse

In no particular order other than how they have populated my use of the Medium’s list function, let’s get into it.

Patti Flinn did not tag this story as spiritual. Nevertheless, it is highly spiritual and if anyone caught the friendly battle between JS Adam, aka Kelly to my Blake Shelton this afternoon in our Slack space over who discovered this great story, you already know how special two very spiritual people think this story’s message is:

One day, as I watched my chubby little girl dog munch on something that she had to fight to keep in her mouth — she likes to work for her treats — it made me think; that’s a girl that knows how to take a bite out of life and not let life take a bite out of her. If I let her see the thing in my pot, she wouldn’t worry that there’s a slug in my strawberry plant. She would think, wow, strawberries and protein! What a great day!

Sanidhya Samyak understands the power of forgiveness for one’s own sake, the danger of resentments, and that forgiveness does not in any way, shape or form require reconciliation.

I forgive you, all three of you. Not because you deserve forgiveness, but because I need to let go of the hatred inside me. I forgive you not for you, but for me.

I choose to make space in my mind and heart for new experiences and happy memories. To do that, I need to let go of the bad memories you gave me. And to do that, I need to forgive you.

That does not mean I will forget how you all did me wrong. That does not mean I will trust you now. Trust is something you earn; you can’t get trust handed to you.

I think the key to forgiveness is understanding that forgiveness does not require reconciliation and that often we need to forgive ourselves for letting someone else harm us. I have written much on this

As a friend said to me recently, Cynthia A. Morgan understands that nature is good for the soul:

Their beauty reaches into the soul, seeming to reconnect us with a time long forgotten. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why so many of us are drawn to the ocean. The inexorable waxing and waning have a similar effect on all of us, causing us to stand in awe-struck wonder, pondering mysteries beyond comprehension. For me, they also cause questions to tumble in my mind, much like the surging waves.

Questions like: are not these rhythms, these harmonies, these moments of passion and fury, as well as the moments of serenity and calm like the nature that struggles within all of us? Doesn’t the ocean, with its fretful motion and lush balm, seem very like the forces that rock and heave our world to and fro?

Samia Husain has just begun to cut her teeth on Medium. Eat your heart out JS Adam, I discovered her before you did, despite not publishing anywhere but her own profile, added her to our pub, and Dr Mehmet Yildiz I look forward to her first contributions with wisdom like:

we can never control how a person adapts to his/her environment, it’s totally their take. What disturbs us is that we are in a habit of a particular version of a person & when we notice the new or reforming one we resist it.

Desiree Driesenaar is trying to save the planet. Read and help her.

I recall many so-called spiritual teachers I met who were shouting how we should be humble. At the same time not able to resist the unlimited wants of their own scarcity mindsets. Living a life of luxury. Telling people: “We need an abundant mindset”.

And I cringe.

Nature’s Way is not like that. Nature’s Way is abundant, yes. And it’s stupid that we created our human systems with scarcity. But Nature doesn’t see abundance as money. Nature is always optimizing more values than just one instead of maximizing. Nature’s Way is 5D and that means you can include time and space into your being on this planet.

I have yet to encounter a person on this planet with more spiritual knowledge and wisdom than Rebecca Romanelli. If concepts of past lives and the Akashic Records interest you, please read:

Then read my:

Pamella Richards's story is wonderfully spiritual. It reminds me of one of my favorite Neale Donald Walsch quotes:

“Do not waste the precious moments of this, your present reality, seeking to unveil all of life’s secrets. Those secrets are a secret for a reason. Grant your God the benefit of the doubt. Use your NOW moment for the Highest Purpose- the creation and the expression of WHO YOU REALLY ARE. Decide who you are — who you want to be — and then do everything in your power to be that.”

You are all very familiar with Dr Mehmet Yildiz, a self-professed technologist and “metal head.” You may not realize that he also writes very spiritual artifacts, his reptilian brain’s word for articles.

We don’t have to be rich or poor to care for ourselves and love each other. Self-compassion is a mindset, health strategy, and critical life skill for all of us. The core of self-compassion is to change the critical inner critic and acknowledge thoughts, sensations, and emotions mindfully at present and in the right perspectives.

In this next article, I commented:

Some narrow-minded people may scratch their heads at how transhumanism can be spiritual. As a writer in spirituality, let me help elaborate. “[Dogma] cannot stand Spirituality. It cannot abide it. For Spirituality may bring you to a different conclusion than a particular [dogma] — and this no known religion can tolerate. [Dogma] encourages you to explore the thoughts of others and accept them as your own. Spirituality invites you to toss away the thoughts of others and come up with your own.”― Neale Donald Walsch, The Complete Conversations with God

As I define spirituality, “it boils down to something very simple. Be the best person you can be, with progress, not perfection.” That sounds like transhumanism to me.

I quote Viktor Frankl often, particularly in my stories of suicide prevention.

The other day I came across these emotionally intelligent words of his:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way…between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Similarly, Tavian Jean-Pierre writes:

You can become authentic by choosing to desire responsibility instead of conformity. When we conform, we feel as though the fault of living an upsetting life is no longer our own.

After all, if I can say everyone was doing it, it does not feel too bad. But it is essential to recognise that choosing not to be authentic is still a choice all the same. For every choice we make, we suffer the weight of all the choices we could have made.

Being authentic is no longer being an observer and letting others decide your life. It is taking ownership of yourself, even if you have not found out what that is yet.

Speaking of emotional intelligence, Libby Shively McAvoy writes brilliantly here about how it working on EQ can greatly increase a substance abuser’s chances of long-term recovery:

https://readmedium.com/healing-through-connection-6966e7b86bdb

(sorry LibbyLuv it didn’t box link)

Sindhuja Kancharla poses:

Do you ever ask yourself, what truly makes you happy? Or perhaps, when did you feel happy and content? On any other day, my mind would go to far fetched dreams and ideas of how I would be happy when I reach a certain goal or imagine myself living a certain life in say, a city I’ve always wanted to live in. It’s so easy to get caught up in that idea that I’m always waiting for some miracle to change my life so I could be happy. I end up chasing an idea of what happiness would look like instead of actually being happy.

Maybe that’s where some of us go wrong.

Please read the rest of Sindhuja’s wisdom:

Emily Jennings and I do not always agree, most recently on what I know to be the myth surrounding twin flames.

See also:

Still, I have the utmost respect for Emily, and recommend this piece to you:

most people don’t ever think about reality beyond what they can see on the physical level. In a world where you’re shamed for believing something beyond the “evidence of science”, following your heart is not the norm. But I’m here to encourage some inner knowledge and inner happiness!

Emily and I see very eye-to-eye here:

Hi, America.

I love you, but I’m fed up with the division in this country. I’m over it. The hate, the separation, the “us” versus “them” mentality, and the refusal to understand another point of view are all really killing me. All I see is the need to come together finally.

…

We need empathy in these times. We need compassion. There’s no way we are going to win at any of our battles as a country — or as a world — unless we embrace these love-based ideals.

See my very similar views, expressed from a different angle, here:

I have enjoyed watching Camille Grady’s growth both as a writer and a person along her spiritual journey. For those of you just starting out, read here how to face your fears:

Speaking of growth as a writer, and keeping with the topic of facing one’s fears, jules I am so proud of you.

The invisible, untouchable energy of fear leads to paralysis more often than fleeing or fighting. We are no longer cave people hunting against saber-toothed tigers, yet the fears we conjure in our minds are often larger than life. My favorite acronyms for FEAR are Face Everything And Rise or F**k Everything And Run. It becomes a battle of wits within our minds.

Our Yellow Brick Roads and foundations start the moment our energy takes on a tangible human form. Fed with the beliefs and guidance of parents, grandparents, and societal power structures, we align our energies to match theirs. Often, these put rules and limits and pressures on our spirit to comply and fit in. We sense our need to connect, so we try to force alignment with those around us. As we continue on our paths, we realize that each brick, turn, and crossroad gives us a choice to align with our spirit or ignore it for the false sense of belonging. When we begin to surrender to the fact that each brick provides an energetic choice, we can see our limiting beliefs and begin to trust alignment to occur naturally — one brick, one moment at a time.

Jules is the first writer I have seen to discuss not only rational intelligence and emotional intelligence but also spiritual intelligence:

OK, that’s more than enough for this issue.

Tagging a few co-editors and friends who I think will not want to miss this collection: Libby Shively McAvoy Dew Langrial Tree Langdon Stuart Englander Claire Kelly Joseph Lieungh JS Adam Dr. Preeti Singh Ravyne Hawke Jean Carfantan John Cunningham I. Trudie Palmer Kim Petersen Keri Mangis Thief Maria Rattray Carol Price Melanie J. Karen Madej ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated Holly Kellums

In Rama I create, with soul-energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,

Marcus