The Ebb and Flow of Spiritual Life

I have been deeply reflecting on my own change and cycles I go through with my spiritual practices. Pondering ideas of what it means to be spiritual and being in the spiritual space. I find myself thinking about this when I notice my own ebb and flow and I’ve heard from many about their own experiences with this. There will be moments of time that I am so “in it”. Experiencing all of the feelings, having spiritual experiences, and feeling the interconnectedness that makes us all one and then out of seemingly nowhere - a period of nothing, feeling almost disconnected. In this stage, I find my spiritual practices are a drag, hard to do, and not wanting to do any of them.

I’ve found over time to embrace that ebb and flow, as it is a necessary part of the journey. Working and being in the spiritual space makes accepting this natural progression a little more difficult. As there is this feeling of needing to be “on” all the time. But this is just not realistic. Over the years, I have moved from frustration to more acceptance (although I do still feel frustration from time to time). Each time I ebb and flow, in and out of my spiritual practice, I have found one common theme - energetic changes and new understandings.

Topics and ideas that once overwhelmed me, I see now with clarity. Space that was once hard to hold, now becomes a lot more smooth and makes more sense on how to deal with. And with these energetic changes, comes the physical ones as well. Your body changes. You feel things more intensely, you become intolerant to the substances and experiences that actually drain you and don’t benefit.

I find the ebb and flow so necessary. It seems as though we are “disconnected” from our spiritual practice when out of the flow, but what if that is just a natural part of the process? And just as “spiritual” and needed as when we are actively “in it”?

So if you find your self stagnant, disconnected from your previous practices, or finding yourself questioning why you’ve fallen off the spiritual wagon, rest assured you are probably just in a state of becoming and working through potential blocks and barriers. Take time and space my friend. You are recalibrating. Being human and ever present is an important part of the journey too.

With love and gratitude,

Kaylah Dillon