Finding Acceptance, Support and Growth Through Spiritual Community
Written By - Rebecca Lemke
Are you feeling alone in your magic? Do the people in your life know you authentically and support your interests? Perhaps you feel stagnant, like your spiritual growth has plateaued.
It is common for spiritual seekers and magic makers to become accustomed to feelings of isolation and self-reliance. Many of us were brought up to fear, dismiss, even mock energetic, psychic and witchy practices. It takes time (and a lot of courage) to decondition ourselves of these old patterns, especially when they are deeply seeded in our unconscious. Knowing that this kind of disbelief and derision lives within our own psyche, it is no wonder we feel secluded from others as we begin to explore the unknown.
You are not alone. The antidote to isolation is connection. Finding a community that resonates with you is a big, important step on your spiritual journey. Consider the forests with their tall, lush trees. The trees support each other underneath the ground, sharing nutrients through their root systems, and challenging each other’s growth as they race to reach the sunlight. Sure, a tree can grow alone in a pot, but it will never reach the heights and fullness of a tree that is connected to the rest of the forest.
We all need to be seen and validated as our authentic selves. A supportive spiritual community will offer encouragement when you express your truth and will honor and reflect your growth. When you let your roots sink into the soil of a resonant collective, you will feel safe, held and nourished as you are.
Wherever you are on your journey, connecting with others on a similar path will enhance your experiences, bringing you inspiration and stimulating new growth. Having a spiritual community means having a safe space to explore and experiment with new ideas and practices. It means discovering, refining, and sharing your own unique and valuable contributions. It also means bearing witness to others on their journey, holding space for them and honoring and reflecting their growth. This sacred reciprocity is what authentic relationships are made of, much like the trees of a forest.
What is spirituality if not deepening relationship to spirit, to nature, to self, and to others? When you find your spiritual community, it is like coming home to your chosen family. When growth becomes stagnant and you begin to feel like you are repeating the same patterns over and over again and it just isn’t serving you anymore, authentic relationship is the catalyst to change.
Sometimes we may not even recognize that we are repeating patterns that do not serve us. They remain in the shadows, just beyond our conscious awareness. A gentle, consensual reflection from another like-hearted person might be all we need to shift perspective just enough to see what shadow part needs our attention. This work of shadow integration heightens our spiritual awareness and deepens our commitment to the chosen path.
Having a witness to this kind of growth helps us reflect on our dedication and see how far we’ve come. It helps others do the same for themselves and together, the forest of spiritual community can grow deeper, taller, and flourish.
For more on building trust and accountability as a community, tune into this episode of the Earth Speak podcast with beekeeper Ang Roell as they share about the wisdom of bees and building resilient, collaborative communities. If you’re working to decondition fear or hesitation around your spiritual practices, be sure to check out this episode where medium and Earth Speak co-founder Shawna Cason shares her story on reclaiming the word witch.
If you want to take your spiritual practice deeper, consider joining a community of like-hearted people who get you. Earth Speak now offers a sacred social networking app where you can connect with others who are carving out their own paths on this spiritual journey we call life.