The Side Of Spirituality That Mainstream Media Doesn’t Talk About

It’s not all crystals and positive vibes

Spirituality had become more trendy in recent years and pop culture has made it seem much more superficial than it really is.

If you’re considering embarking on your own personal healing journey and becoming more spiritual, then congrats! That’s already something to be proud of.

However, if you think being spiritual means putting things like, “Positive vibes only” in your Instagram bio, then you might want to dial it back a bit and discover the actual truth about what a spiritual journey is really like.

Besides, you do know it’s impossible to always be a positive person, right?

Before I begin to give you the side of spirituality no one talks about, I want to make it clear that everyone’s journey is different and unique to them.

Just because another person experienced something on their journey does not mean it’s guaranteed to happen to you.

I am speaking from my personal experience and common examples that I’ve observed from the people around me.

Now, let’s talk about the side of spirituality that mainstream media doesn't tell you about.

Healing Hurts

This one should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people think healing happens overnight.

Becoming a spiritual person means becoming one with your soul. In order to become one with your true essence, you must first fight off all of your inner demons.

Healing isn’t easy for anyone. We all deal with pain in different ways but at the end of the day, pain is still pain.

When you begin to heal, all of those old wounds you thought you had closed will open right back up. All of those situations you thought you were over will be brought to the forefront and you’ll relive the emotions you once felt so that you can actually work through them this time.

Social media might make it seem like all you need to do is raise your vibrations and spread positive vibes, but they don’t actually talk about how strenuous the journey to get there is.

How can you ascend when you have your past baggage weighing you down?

Healing is not a straight path at all. Some days you’ll be fine other days painful memories from the past will pop up and ruin your whole day. You don’t just wake up one day and suddenly all of your struggles and heartache will be gone.

It’s a process that takes an indefinite amount of time.

Crystals, Crystals, Crystals

Listen, I get it. Crystals are gorgeous and if you want to wear them purely for fashion purposes, then go right ahead. But, if you’re somewhat into spirituality you might’ve heard that crystals possess some powers.

It’s true, crystals do help influence your energy, but there’s much more to it than just wearing crystal jewelry all the time.

If you actually want to reap the benefits the crystals have to offer, you have to set an intention and charge them with energy first.

You have to make it clear how you want each crystal to help you or else they won’t be as effective. For example, if you bought Onyx to repel energy vampires, then let your intention for the crystal be to cleanse any negative energy surrounding you.

Think of it as you adding your personal spunk to activate the crystal’s healing power.

There are tons of different types of crystals that serve different purposes so it’s best you do your research beforehand to ensure you’re getting the best ones for you.

Also, I know I said crystals can be powerful however, they’re not problem solvers.

You can’t buy an Amethyst crystal and expect your anxiety to fade away without addressing the root cause of your worries. You can’t hate yourself then suddenly pop on a Rose Quartz ring and expect your soulmate to waltz into your life.

That is not how life works!

Crystals can sway your energy and give you a boost or cleanse when you need it, but they’re not miracle workers. If you really want to attract something it has to start within you — not your crystals.

You want love? Learn to love yourself fully. You want money? Step out of your comfort zone to attract more opportunities.

You can’t create the life you want if you refuse to do your part.

Still Looking At Your Sun Sign?

Astrology and spirituality often coincide with each other. Believe it or not, what happens in the sky does actually has a lot to do with who you are today and what your path is like. Your birth chart is basically a map of your life.

In pop culture, you hear a lot about the zodiac signs which some people seem to find accurate, while others seem to think it’s straight b.s.

All the signs, planets, houses, etc., in your birth chart makes you, you. However, for some reason, people tend to only focus on their sun sign and I believe it’s because it’s the easiest to figure out.

Your sun sign is the zodiac sign the sun was in when you were born. The only information you need to figure out your sun sign is your date of birth.

While your sun sign can sometimes be important, your rising sign is your true identity.

Your rising sign resides in the first house which represents your persona and physical characteristics.

To figure out your rising sign you need your date of birth, time of birth, and city of birth. After discovering your rising sign, you might realize it describes you much better than your sun sign ever did.

Another issue with pop culture and astrology is that people use their sun signs to check their compatibility with someone else.

When you’re looking for compatibility between two people you have to create a synastry chart. A synastry chart basically compares the entire birth chart of both people to figure out what the relationship would be like.

Focusing on only one sign can tell you about yourself from one perspective. For example, your moon sign can tell you how you deal with emotions and your venus sign can tell you how you handle love.

But to be honest, it’s better to focus on all of your signs in your chart since they all work together to make up who you are.

Divination Tools

Tarot cards are becoming more and more mainstream and a lot of new spiritualists think divination tools are necessary, but they’re not.

Divination tools are used to communicate with the spirit world. But how do you think these tools actually work?

You ask a question and then what? The spirit you’re talking to moves your pendulum for you? No, your subconscious mind actually causes you to create micro-movements to sway the direction the pendulum swings in, hence bringing your answer forward.

The divine puts that knowledge in you and you simply reflect it back onto whatever tool you’re using.

For example, if you’re using a tarot deck you might reach in and intuitively pick specific cards that answer your question.

Your intuition stems from your higher self which resides in your subconnsious mind and acts as a direct connection to the divine.

You don’t need to use divination tools because the answers to your questions have already been placed within you!

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use tools to help you understand what the divine is saying.

I use tarot cards all the time with other forms of divination tools. Sometimes intuitive downloads from the divine can be hard to interpret and using these tools can make your job a lot easier.

But they are not a necessity. Use them when you need them.

It’s A Lonely Ride

Mainstream media has made spirituality seem like it’s nothing but pure happiness and good vibes, but that’s actually not the case.

Spirituality can one hundred percent make you happier than you’ve ever been. It can make life feel more fulfilling and enjoyable because you’re able to see the purpose behind things.

The further along you are on your journey, the more wisdom you will collect, but believe it or not, too much wisdom can actually have adverse effects.

When you go through spiritual awakenings, you always come out with a specific lesson that you were meant to learn along with a lot more divine wisdom.

When you see the bigger picture of things it can sometimes make you see right through people.

Let’s say you have a friend that is very judgmental which makes you feel like you can’t be your true self around them. You’ll feel the need to abruptly cut this person out of your life because they’re only hindering the journey you’re on of figuring out your true self.

Spiritual awakenings make you mature much faster than you normally would, which means you’ll outgrow the people and things that once brought you joy.

These awakenings make you push everyone away so that you can be isolated because isolation is the only way you can turn inwards and connect with your divine essence.

Watching everything you love get taken away from you one by one is not an easy thing to deal with, but sometimes it’s necessary for our growth and after your awakening, you’ll realize that.

Witchcraft

Social media, specifically TikTok, has a lot of spells — and I mean a lot. You can find a spell for love, money, fame, and anything else you can think of with just a simple search. Spiritual people might feel like they have to dabble in magick in order to “level up” spiritually but that’s actually not the case.

Just because you are spiritual does not mean you need to be into witchcraft.

Some people have a natural affinity for things like witchcraft and the occult, but just because you’re spiritual doesn’t mean you have to go around casting spells and hexing people you don’t like.

Witchcraft can be extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing and karma is real so be careful with your actions.

Witchcraft also looks different in different parts of the world so before you even think about doing anything, do your research. A great publication right here on Medium that writes about magick and spirituality is Astro Pagan.

You Won’t Regret It

When you start your spiritual journey, your entire world will be turned upside down in the best way possible. Despite all of the pain and confusion you may experience, becoming one with your soul is extremely rewarding.

Embracing your spirituality makes you realize how much power you truly have and shows you sides of yourself you didn’t even know existed — sides of yourself you might even fall in love with.

The way you perceive life will shift and you’ll learn to trust that everything happening to you and around you is happening for a reason. Instead of getting frustrated when you encounter challenges, you’ll see them as a stepping stone for you to level up and become a better you.

In a world full of nonstop work and distractions, spirituality is an amazing way to stay grounded and reconnect with your true self.

I promise you won’t regret embarking on this journey!

Sending love, light, and healing energy your way. Good luck on your journey! ❤