![\"athena\"](\"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/athena.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nRecently I was in conversation with a friend.\u00a0 I was telling him how I felt like a fraud as I\u2019m not always able to practice what I preach. He said,\u00a0 \u201cYou are not God. Relax\u201d.<\/p>\n
Every cell in my body unclenched and breathed a huge sigh of relief.\u00a0 I am not God.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to be God.\u00a0 I definitely need to stop \u2018playing God\u2019.\u00a0 I can be me!! \u00a0 Thank God!!!<\/p>\n
This conversation provoked me to seeing how very stuck we can become on this so called \u201cSpiritual\u201d path.\u00a0 Seeing how we can take a wrong turn so easily in our earnest quest for \u2018enlightenment\u2019 \/ \u2018consciousness\u2019 and how careful we need to be as we shed old false beliefs not to fill back up with new, albeit more spiritual sounding false beliefs\u2026.<\/p>\n
Here are my top 5 new age spiritual potholes<\/p>\n
1. I am not a Goddess<\/b>.<\/p>\n
You are a Goddess!\u201d They say,\u00a0 \u201cYou deserve a man that will treat you like a Goddess!\u201d\u00a0 They say, \u201cDon\u2019t settle for anyone who doesn\u2019t adore you!\u201d They say. And for a long, long time my Ego said.\u00a0 Yup!\u00a0 That\u2019s totally true.\u00a0 I am a Goddess and I want to be put on a Goddess pedestal and worshipped.\u00a0 Oh dear\u2026.<\/p>\n
After some time.\u00a0 After waiting impatiently for \u2018that\u2019 man I\u2019ve thankfully realised I am not a Goddess.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be a Goddess.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to be adored\u2026. and seriously, please don\u2019t ever worship me.<\/p>\n
Please don\u2019t misunderstand me.\u00a0 This is not an invitation to treat me like shit.\u00a0 It\u2019s simply\u00a0 recognition that I am a human being.\u00a0 Whilst we all have Divinity within us and on a good day we manage to access and share it with each other. We are human.\u00a0 I choose to be with a man who meets me as an equal.\u00a0 Who sees the truth of who I am, my flaws, my glory, the work that I\u2019m doing, the work that I need to do\u2026. and loves me anyway\u2026. as an equal.\u00a0 Of course there must be respect, kindness, compassion etc.\u00a0 But, If he puts me on a pedestal, if he worships me, if he sees me as a Goddess he is not seeing me.\u00a0 My ego might enjoy it temporarily but it is a delusion.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 The purpose of a Spiritual practice is not to be Spiritual.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
It confuses me when I hear people say \u201cI\u2019m very Spiritual\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure I even understand what that really means.<\/p>\n
I have a range of spiritual practices but none of them is about making me more Spiritual.\u00a0 They are about helping me to see the truth and become a better human being so I can make the most of the gifts I have been given, enjoy my life to the full and have a positive impact on this planet.<\/p>\n
For me, spirituality is the path not the destination.<\/p>\n
3. Polyamory is not the <\/b>only<\/b> way to practice non attachment in relationship<\/b><\/p>\n
OK I need to be careful here.\u00a0 I\u2019m not into Polyamory.\u00a0 At all.\u00a0 I\u2019m a monogamy kind of girl.\u00a0 Totally, fully, completely.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not dismissing Polyamory for those that enjoy this way of relating\u00a0 as long as it\u2019s not an unconscious shield that is being used to avoid true connection and emotional availability.\u00a0 As long as Polyamory is conscious and consensual go for it!<\/p>\n
However, it is a myth to assume that monogamy is synonymous with attachment in relationship.\u00a0 It is very possible, very lovely and very precious\u00a0 to be totally committed to one person and for both partners to have complete freedom to be their authentic selves within that.\u00a0 And the freedom to be really, truly, fully me is the ultimate freedom.<\/p>\n
For sure it is also very, very challenging as our society and language invites us to create unhealthy attachment and expectation in relationships.\u00a0 But if we remain conscious, clear and true we can navigate non-attached, monogamous, wonderful relationships.<\/p>\n
4. Self-deprecation is not humble<\/b><\/p>\n
Being humble is a noble and desirable quality. But very many of us (myself included) mistake self-deprecation for humility.<\/p>\n
How can we tell the difference?\u00a0 Humility never (EVER) looks or sounds like putting yourself down.\u00a0 Humble people are able to acknowledge another\u2019s greatness and beauty without making any reference to themselves.\u00a0 \u201cYou are a beautiful singer\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cYou inspire me\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m interested in your point of view\u201d says a humble person. They do not add \u201cI\u2019m no good at that\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cI wish I was as inspiring as you\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m completely ignorant about that\u201d.<\/p>\n
Humble people also accept compliments with grace.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lovely thing to say\u201d,\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u00a0 I love this dress too\u2019 . \u00a0 Not\u00a0 \u201cOh do you think so?\u00a0 I think my hips look too big\u201d.\u00a0 They humbly accept the gift of the compliment as opposed to arrogantly rebuking the kind words and implying the giver of the compliment doesn\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n
Culturally we\u2019re encouraged to self-deprecate consider it modest\/humble.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not.\u00a0 It\u2019s a form of self harm.\u00a0 Another way the sneaky ego has to keep us stuck in the illusion that we are not enough.\u00a0 Notice the language you use to talk about yourself and if necessary make a course correction.<\/p>\n
5. There isn\u2019t a aright way \u2026 or a wrong way. <\/b><\/p>\n
There is only your way.\u00a0 Beware of anyone telling you you\u2019re not doing enough, you\u2019re not doing it right.\u00a0 Beware of anyone that tells you their way is the only way.\u00a0 Do not give away your power to choose what works for you.<\/p>\n
The way that works for you is the right way.\u00a0 Not into Yoga?\u00a0 Fine!!\u00a0 Find what you are into\u2026.Trust yourself.\u00a0 A true \u2018Guru\u2019 \/ mentor will help you to find and follow your path not impose theirs on you.<\/p>\n
The truth is we are here to be human.\u00a0 Beautifully, funnily, messily human.\u00a0 We mess up, we triumph, we fail, we fall we get up, we love, we loose, our hearts open, our hearts break.\u00a0 For me the it\u2019s a trap to expect or want it to be any other way.\u00a0 I\u2019d hate to loose my passion, I\u2019d hate to loose my child like excitement. My spiritual path is not to be perfect but to navigate my imperfections.<\/p>\n
I am not God\u2026.. and neither are you \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
Faithfully, Alison x<\/p>\n
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Recently I was in conversation with a friend.\u00a0 I was telling him how I felt like a fraud as I\u2019m not always able to practice what I preach. He said,\u00a0 \u201cYou are not God. Relax\u201d. Every cell in my body unclenched and breathed a huge sigh of relief.\u00a0 I am not God.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have … Continue reading I am not a Goddess<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":644,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643\/revisions\/644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}