Latest / Alive, I Guess Podcast / Episode 40 - Spirituality Be Happenin

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Episode 40 - Spirituality Be Happenin · Alive, I Guess Podcast

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: What is good, y'all?
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to your safe space.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, RJ, and this is the Alive I Guess Podcast.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, welcome.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you for joining.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been here, welcome back.
• 0:31
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• 0:34
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• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you got any inquiries or feedback, you are emailing us at aliveagespodcast at gmail.com.
• 0:55
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• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are going to be discussing spirituality.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We just had the episode around grief last week.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned we would be tapping into spirituality as that is something that I use to help deal with my grief and how I connect with people who have passed on.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: So today we're gonna get into it.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: But you already know we gotta do a moment of gratitude.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are listening today, say something out loud that you are grateful for.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are watching, drop something below in the comments.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am grateful for new beginnings.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I am in such a transition in life, and it feels like I have closed an old chapter, a chapter of struggle, development, hardship, grind, and feel like I have stepped into a new beginning, new chapter, new version of myself that was completely unexpected.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: But there's this freshness and newness and excitement that I feel internally, and I am grateful for it.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I love a fresh beginning.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Shake things up, change things, start things over, try new things.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's just like permission to try anything that you want.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it here.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: But okay, let's get into it because spirituality be happening.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get started, before we dive in, I want to make this very clear.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: I am not trying to push nothing onto nobody.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am not saying this is something that you have to believe in, this is something you have to try.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that it's better than any religion or any other sort of belief that a person may have.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is my personal story.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: These are my personal experiences, and this is something that I feel like whether people acknowledge it or not, we're kind of experiencing if you are a human being.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it is something that is very significant in my life.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of people that I know who also are very spiritual.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I said we need to have a conversation about it.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not gonna push nothing onto y'all.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Take or leave whatever you want.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: If this ain't the episode for you, go ahead and just exit out.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: But just listen with that caveat in mind.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And also, this don't mean I'm trying to have anybody push shit onto me.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we just gonna have to agree to disagree.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now that we've got that cleared, let's jump in.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, spirituality.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Spirituality is something that doesn't have to take the place of religion.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can be very spiritual and you can be religious.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: You can believe in a religion, believe in a god, believe in whatever you believe in, and also be spiritual.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Religion is a shared, organized system of beliefs, rules, and community rituals focused on a higher power.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Spirituality is a personal inner path focused on finding meaning, peace, and connection to something larger than yourself.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, you can believe and follow a religion and honor a God and all these things, but you can also find meaning for life within yourself by finding it in something greater than yourself.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: The two can coexist, or you don't have to believe in either one, or you can only choose one.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: For the sake of today's conversations, I hold both.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: I am a religious person, I believe in certain things that are on the religious side, and I am a spiritual person.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: I believe in certain things that are on the spiritual side.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: When I was in kindergarten up until third grade, I went to a private Catholic school.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that was really like the saints and people was doing communion and drinking the blood of Jesus and all that, right?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like Catholicism was the religion of the school.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really know if it was like if you believe in anything else, you can't go there.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think I had people who celebrated other religions.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not even Catholic, but I do know that when it came to them, we're saying the prayers, we're singing the songs that are aligned with Catholicism.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if y'all have caught on by now, but I am gay.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Very gay.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I have a wife.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: I knew at that school that I was gay, and I'm listening to this book that is telling me that who I am is a sin.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that in my little inquisitive mind made me question like, well, how does that happen?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how am I supposed to do anything about it if I'm born this way and you telling me like being this way is a sin?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that made me start to become more curious about religion and my understanding and relationship to it.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: I did not denounce anything, I did not walk away from anything.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: I was never Catholic, but I've always believed in God.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't say, like, God, we I'm not rocking with you because you said this.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this just made me open my world and find more information that aligns with me.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, I'm doing this life for me.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: I can't live nobody else's life.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I have to make it make sense in my head so that I can live a fulfilling life in the way that I see fit.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, growing up, up until recent days, I've been someone who was always afraid of like the supernatural spirits, ghosts, seeing things, hearing things.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want no parts of that shit.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to see nothing.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to hear nothing.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want no messages.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I am afraid of all of that.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: So spirituality was not something I sought out.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: However, whether you choose to believe it or not, like there are energies and spirits around us.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: You may not be able to see them or hear them.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Some people have different abilities, like clairvoyance or clair audience, doesn't stop the show.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like the spiritual world is still very present and it's all around us.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you are tapped into being connected to it or not, that's just the reality of things.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: However, I've always felt like my connection to spirituality, even though I try to avoid it and hide it and like not accept it or acknowledge it, has always been very strong.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just kind of been confirmed the older I've got and the more I've accepted that reality.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it hasn't been as terrifying or even terrifying as I thought it would.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I still don't want to see nothing.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I still don't want to hear nothing.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's something I will work through in the future.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Baby steps, but I still hold the two things at the same time.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I still have some fears, I still have some beliefs on either side.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that is just kind of to set the scene.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: What we will be diving in today will be specifically my connection to my spirituality, where I find meaning, where I find peace, where I find connection from within.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a denouncing of religion or anything of that sort.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like this is my expansion of spirituality, religion, and something connecting to something greater than myself.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So how did we get here?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, always been afraid, but I've always been connected.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: I touched on it in the last episode, but I, although was afraid of ghosts and didn't want to think about death and didn't want to think about spirits, I've always been extremely connected to my sister who was past.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: I never saw her, I never could picture her or anything, but I've always felt that she was around.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I never felt like she was around in a way that was trying to harm me or scare me or lead me down a path that wasn't right for me.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like it always felt like this calming, protecting, protective energy.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like it wasn't something that I feared.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So she was kind of like my dipping my toe in the water, but it was really like I'm only rocking with this as it refers and is in relation to you.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like everything else I can't get with because that's just spooky, because that's what we've been taught.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: Then, you know, my wife is on her own journey of spirituality, and she's dabbled in different things, she's explored different religions, she's just expanded her knowledge and experience with spirituality in general.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm seeing her do her thing, and I'm like, girl, I okay, like if that's what you want to do, I'm still gonna be over here.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: But the more and more I kind of see, and the more I hear about what she's doing, I'm like, oh, that that sounds like okay, you know, like it doesn't sound spooky.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also learning in the process about how as black Americans, like where we come from, spirituality and spiritual practices is deeply embedded in our DNA.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about back to the motherland.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like we used to do there and still do a lot of spiritual practices.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, the things that we used to practice had to be hidden in different religions when we were traded over here in the slave trade, and we had to make it consumable and get uh creative in the ways in which we do it, and that's a whole other story for a whole other day.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: But the result of it was you need to follow this religion when you're over here, and anything that y'all was doing, like hoodoo or voodoo or any of those things, that's gonna get demonized.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So today, those practices that are ancestral to us are looked at as bad, scary, devil worship, all the negative things.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: But it's literally embedded in us, and I find it interesting that it's so demonized, but you ain't splitting that pole, you ain't stepping on that crack, you ain't sweeping your feet, you ain't putting that purse on the floor, you catching holy ghosts, you feel the Holy Spirit.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how so again, my inquisitive mind, I'm like, well, how is this bad?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: But like this is okay.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm seeing the compare and contrast, and then I'm also learning more about spiritual practices and things that we did in our ancestral practices, and I'm like, I don't see what the scary things are, so I'm gonna open myself up to learning more about it, but still, I'm not trying to float, levitate, see nothing, make magic.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: I no, still, no, no.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then 2024, my wife, my mom, and my mother-in-law, we all decided we wanted to take a trip to New Orleans.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I also have a lot of roots in New Orleans on my mom's mom's side, like very strong connections in New Orleans.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, I really want to go.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've always felt this gravitational pull to New Orleans.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, apparently, the Bay Area and New Orleans are like sister cities, which is crazy to me.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I've always felt this like calling to go to New Orleans, but I've always been scared for obvious reasons.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, New Orleans is like this very heavy spiritual place, and I don't know what I'm gonna experience when I get over there, but I'm just letting whoever is watching know in the spiritual world, like I don't want to see nothing, like I'm still moving in this sphere.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: We go to New Orleans, and I feel like this is like a spiritual awakening in a sense for me.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: I feel a lot of energy.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can't help but feel a lot of energy when you go to New Orleans, whether you deny it or not.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's probably why people drink so goddamn much, because they just want to not feel nothing, but like I it was very apparent, like how spiritual of a place, especially as a black person, especially as a person with roots to the city, like it was very spiritually charged.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna say I was comfortable because I was very uncomfortable, because spirits, like, just like there are good Christians and bad Christians, and good Catholics and bad Catholics, there are good spirits and bad spirits, good people and bad people, like there's good and bad.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: So just because you feel energy don't mean it's all good, and I don't know what I'm feeling, and I don't know what's gonna happen, and I feel like we're in this hub of spirituality, so I'm still very apprehensive, but I'm also very open.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that trip is kind of what sparked my interest in learning more about spirituality and understanding that there are energies and people around us who are looking to help us.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: There are bad energies and spirits as well.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: But just like people have different ways of protecting themselves in other religions, there are ways you can protect yourself in spirituality, just like you got to protect yourself in real life.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, just like anything else, you need to understand how to navigate it.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: So once I understand one, I can't do shit about these spiritual gifts that I have, even though I tried to push them off, tried to deny them, tried to ignore them, tried to be like, I don't want no fucking parts.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, I was confirmed many times.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, can't do nothing about it.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, there are people who want to help you.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: There are ancestors who want to guide you.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: They've been trying to help you, but you've been shut off because you think they're scary.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe honor them.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe try connecting with them just by like praying or giving offerings at an altar.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like it's not something to be afraid of.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: People honor the dead all the time.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Memorials, having pictures up in their room, wearing things that they once had.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: People do these things regardless of the religion.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it don't get scary just because it's in the spiritual practice.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So for the past couple years or so, I've really started to hone in on understanding that spirituality is okay.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: There aren't things to fear and not running from it, and implementing things on my day-to-day life that help me just center and feel at peace.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I look to for guidance.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not nothing like hocus pocus.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not over here doing witchcraft.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not over here with voodoo dolls and shit.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, it don't look like that at all.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: But it is something that today I feel I need, especially in a world full of let's be real, demons, people in power who are doing demonic shit.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we ain't scared of them.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Should be.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's people we should be.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: We should be afraid of the living.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing supernatural has done me harm like a living person has done.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: So today I protect myself and I honor ancestors, and that can look like many different things.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Honoring ancestors, it always makes me sad that people feel this is like a bad thing.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: If someone you knew very close to you passed away and now they are gone, are you supposed to just think that now they are demonic because they've passed?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Are you supposed to not do anything with them because they're no longer here?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't make any sense.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, that's extremely disrespectful.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: These are people that you knew in your real life that are no longer here.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: And just because they've passed away, which surprise everybody will one day, doesn't mean that they are now like demonic.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying you gotta pray and honor these people and look at these people, these spirits, as like God.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's not my ministry to tell you to do so.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: But they can be used as a tool, at least for me, to help ground me, to help bring me peace.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: When I am feeling confused and need some guidance or don't really know where to turn, like I pray in different ways.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I pray to the God of my understanding.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: I pray and ask for guidance from ancestors.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's a combination of things that we do.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not just like praying and using ancestors as like the one tool because they're a tool, nor would they want you to do that.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, they understand how they fit into the spiritual realm, like they aren't trying to be God, and I don't think putting all your faith in one thing is very safe.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I personally expand the ways in which I connect to the power greater than me, and that's what I believe.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's that look like?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Every morning I pray.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: I have an altar that I have things set up that help me honor my ancestors.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have my sister, I have my dog, I have things that remind me of them.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really like I'm just asking for protection.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm asking for peace.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm asking to keep myself, the people I love, safe.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not using it like a like a magic wand, and I'm thinking that like nothing's ever going to happen, but like it feels kind of like putting myself in alignment.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's really like a ritual practice for myself, because I really feel like what you speak is what comes to fruition.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are saying, like, life is crazy, life is scary, things are always happening, then that's what's coming.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: So as I'm calling for peace, as I'm calling for balance and clarity and prosperity, like I feel that's what I'm calling into my life so that it can be so.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also doing the work, I'm not just sitting here praying, I'm not just sitting here asking and not doing nothing, like it's matched with work.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's also not the only thing I do.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's part of my practice.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: But that's something that I do and it helps ground me because I be not grounded a lot, and it grounds me, it calms me, it centers me, and it makes it easier to stay grounded and to stay level-headed in times of chaos and confusion and hard times and adversity.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't believe that there's any one size fits all to any solution.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think there's any one solution that can work for everybody, even for myself.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have different things that I use for my mental health outside of spirituality.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Put spirituality to the side.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is a full project, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: It takes so many different things to look after all those individual areas.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just like I do this for my mental, I do this for my physical.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, each of those areas have many different things.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Physical, you gotta eat right.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta get sleep, you gotta move your body, you gotta stretch, you gotta give yourself supplements, you gotta give yourself water.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's not just one thing mentally, going to therapy, you're journaling, you're looking for community and support groups, you have other medications.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Medication sometimes that you take.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you have to do things that are even more extreme and severe.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a one size fits all.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to your spirituality, it's the same thing.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Again, for me personally, that's what I feel works best for me.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I use multiple tools at my disposal in every area that involves taking care of me, keeping me alive, keeping me going and prosperous.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: But as it pertains to looking for meaning and looking for understanding and clarity, I'm looking within.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm using what I know.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking to trust in myself and my intuition that I have the tools that I need to succeed.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I look to ancestors to kind of reaffirm me when I'm doubting myself, when I am telling myself all these negative, unconscious things, or when I just feel like confused.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because they, to me, do not get confused.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: They know.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, bro, why are you even worried about this?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you've been through these things time and time again.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your reminder.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you can pull yourself out of this mental mess you put yourself in and keep moving forward.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's how I utilize my spiritual practices.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like a, I'm gonna pray for a blessing and y'all gonna deliver it, and I'm not gonna sit here and I'm just gonna wait.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, like I'm very much so boots on the ground, making shit happen.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they are supporting me along the way and giving me comfort and giving me guidance.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm very early on, very, very early on in my practices.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: There are still things I don't fully understand if I'm doing right.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still figuring out what works best for me.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still trying to see like ways that I can understand like what is guidance and what is fear, you know, because I think they get conflated sometimes.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is this something that I should be doing?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or is this something I'm telling myself I need to do because it feels safe?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm trying to break free of any limiting beliefs.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I feel like operating from a place of limitation and hesitation and anxiety is not going to get you to a prosperous life because you'll never take the risk.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: You'll never want to try things out, you'll never want to get up and try again if you fail.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I always try to move from a space of I'm just gonna go forward and I'm not gonna let anything stop me, but I'm gonna move forward with the understanding of the full picture.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm not just gonna go blindly for no reason, like I need guidance, and that's how I weave in ancestors to affirm me in that guidance.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Since 2024, I can definitely say I've become more spiritually inclined.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm more aware of things, I notice synchronicities, I understand sometimes when things look like coincidences, like that's not a coincidence.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and that to me gives me guidance on my next steps, especially when I'm confused.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have a friend, and friend, I know you're gonna see this, but she has been telling me for years, like, you're very spiritual.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't, you don't have to believe it, but like one day you will, like, you'll you'll get there.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: And she'll tell you, was fighting her, tooth and nail, like, no, I'm not.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: No, I I rebuke that.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the case.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, okay.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And as we've progressed through this journey for the past couple of years, she's like, Yeah, I know.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I knew you were gonna get here.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: And she still says there's more in the future for me because she is also a very spiritually inclined person, spiritually gifted as hell.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, she's also been very instrumental in me getting comfortable with these things that I really can't avoid.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's like if they're gonna be here anyway, I might as well try and make the most of it.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, they're gonna be here regardless.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: So she's been helpful.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: My wife has been helpful, other people and other resources have been very helpful along the way, and I feel like that is very necessary as you're embarking down any sort of belief system or practice of a higher energy or source, because you don't want to be like self-proclaimed or become kind of uh in an echo chamber of your own thoughts.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always good to get input from people who have experience, who have knowledge, and that's what I wanted to do.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: They can also give you understanding, and they can also give you guidance and help you along your journey.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you take what you want, you leave what you don't want, and that's just kind of how you put together your own relationship to whatever source you believe in.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: As I've gotten more connected and more spiritually stronger, I do notice things on a daily basis that have really made a difference.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest thing I can say is honestly, this entire year, like being unemployed for the first half of the year, going through all the changes that I was going through and telling myself myself that like I am going to be okay, things are going to work out, I see things coming, feeling like I'm being affirmed in what I'm telling myself, even though I don't see it, even though I don't see how it's gonna happen.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like walking on faith and things panning out, and therefore like confirming all the things I was feeling during a time when I couldn't see it, like that just makes me feel even more trustworthy in all of the things that I use to help me along this journey.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: March specifically was very tough for me in terms of keeping my faith.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: I knew going into 2026 it was gonna be hard.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was entering the year without a job, without a plan, without uh hope in anything working out.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm like, I've been through things before, things always pan out.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why, I don't know how, I don't know in what way.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: But everything is going to work out.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And as I'm telling myself this every day, and I'm putting in the steps every day to making sure I'm getting closer to that reality being true, it's coming more and more to fruition.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: So now I'm in a much better place.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm ending the year with a job, I'm ending the year completely different from how I was before.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: And there have been things that have come up even after that.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's a situation um that kind of hit in early or late July.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, it feels like everything is in a transition, everything's changing.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: The home I'm living in, my circumstances, everything at once is like time to move, time to change.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, how, how, like, how do we get here?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of being or responding like the old version of me would, with so much fear and like freezing and stress and not really moving and feeling like I have to retreat to be safe.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Not to say I wasn't stressed, not to say I wasn't scared, but I still kept moving forward and walking in this energy of like, it's going to work out.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: It always works out.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I thought I was about to fall off, it never happened.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I kept moving forward.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: I have too much confirmed proof that things always work out.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm choosing to go take the risk and move in the direction and move in the energy like it's gonna be okay.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be okay.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to work out.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have nothing to fear.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that's that's the only way you move.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: You still gotta be smart, you still gotta take care of yourself, you still gotta make sure your bills are paid.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: But just really trusting and having these little bits of affirmation along the way that I can use and that I can look to that is like proof as I'm moving down this path.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, okay, I'm supposed to be going this way, I'm supposed to be doing this thing, I am moving in the right direction.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and that's how I'm able to move through things now.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: Cause before, before I had all this proof, before I had this connection, anytime anything came up, I just would have pulled it all back, undid all the work I did, and just played it safe so that nothing bad could happen.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: But nothing really comes from, like nothing can grow from your comfort zone.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like nothing really prospers in the comfort zone, nothing grows by playing it safe.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I've done too much growth to go backwards.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I move in that belief, and I move with the knowing that I'm protected.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: I am aligned with a higher purpose, and that as I progress through life, that is what I'm moving towards.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: That is what I'm moving in.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: So nothing can really stop me.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm going to keep going, even when I get scared.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have faith.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: I have faith that I'm being protected from all sides, from all sources.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: And to this point, it's been proven so.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I know if that is not the case, if I do lose things or if I do run into hardships, I will always pull myself out of it.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've done it before.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it will shake out and work out ultimately.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how my connection helps me move through life and brings me peace and brings me pound balance as I'm going through all the crazy things of being an adult today.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to that fear of spirits and things, I learn that you're not going to be given something that you can't handle.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that's true across the board, all religions, beliefs, whatever.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the same goes for spirituality.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: My ancestors know I am not in a place where you could pop up in my face and I'm going to receive that well.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't see anything.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: As spiritually inclined as I am, I ain't seen nothing.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope I never do, because that's not what works for me.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: However, I do feel things.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: I do have this like knowing things are around me.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't hear anything, I don't see anything, but like I can feel the presence.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that has become more of a comfort versus like a fear, because that's the way I can receive it.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: So the fear has gotten significantly less, if at all.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think the only fear that kind of remains is if I see something or hear something.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: But one day that might change again.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, like that fear is completely gone.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: I know that I have what I need to protect myself from the physical and the spiritual.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: And anything that I do feel is good energy.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's with the people around me, and that's with the spirits around me.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't keep no bad energy around me at all either.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like in physical people.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like all those people have been cut off.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: Certain people cannot come to my home.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I do not play that.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't really fear anything that is aligned with me.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we've removed that whole fear part.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'd also be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the fact that I am deeply tied to literally the most spiritual, black spiritual place in the country.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Damn near in the world next to the motherland, like have direct ties, not even like generations and generations back, like where it starts.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no, like only like a couple generations back.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and I feel this pull to this place.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I again do not believe in coincidences.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have not been to New Orleans in a couple years.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: I want to go back so bad.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like when I go back this next time, the experience is gonna be even more significant.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I cannot wait because I feel like that's really gonna change the game for real again.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: And oh, I gotta get some more of them beignets.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I can't even tell you the spot, so I'm gonna hold on to that one because everybody thinks it's one spot, it's not, it's yeah.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'ma hold because ooh, I need me like a pack of those, baby.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: But my spiritual journey is ongoing, it's always gonna be evolving and ongoing.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like a personal journey that I will always be on, and it'll always be changing because it's not like a destination that I've arrived at, it's a journey.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm in it for the long ride.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: But my journey, again, is my journey, and your journey is yours.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's important that we can have conversations about differing opinions and differing beliefs, and not turn it into an argument or a bashing session or like me trying to convince you, or vice versa.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really just sharing the experiences, not as a prescription, not as me trying to convince you to do something, but like someone out there is gonna feel what I'm saying.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Someone out there, this might spark their curiosity or bring words to the thoughts that they're having about their own relationship to their own belief in a religion or their own belief in spirituality.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's important to continue to have these conversations because that's how we grow and evolve as people.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: If I never had my own awakening and experiences and being exposed to things that shifted my belief in spirituality and changed how I looked at it, I wouldn't be here.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be able to talk about these things today.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, this is just all to bring awareness, share my experiences.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: I respect everybody's religion, everybody's belief.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: Choose to believe what you believe.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: I will choose to believe what I believe, but I respect everybody's path.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: So just respect mine.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I ask.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: But as for my journey, I'm still early, I'm still learning, I'm still evolving, and I'm still becoming more aware.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just the truth.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to expanding my gifts, I look forward to gaining more protection and alignment and any sort of help I can have in this world, in this lifetime, because I could take all the help I could get.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because this is an engaging conversation.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious, listeners, watchers, where do you all find your connection?
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that be religion, spirituality, whatever you believe in.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where do you get your connection to something greater than yourself?
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's something else entirely.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm just curious to know, and I'm very intrigued by all the different ways people find their beliefs and what they're connected to.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: So let me know in the comments below.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: But all in all, this is not about leaving anybody behind, leaving a religion behind, or anything like that.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is about me honoring where I come from while still growing into who I'm becoming.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to all the things that I learn and I acquire along the way.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, y'all, it's time to get into this.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: I say this with love.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your friendly reminder to submit your submissions at the tiny URL link if you want your situation read during this segment.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: Am I the asshole for telling my sister I wasn't coming to her baby shower unless she apologized for missing my kid's birthday for the third year in a row?
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: I say this with love.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I respect a boundary.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: Three years in a row, she didn't go to your child's birthday, their niece or nephew's birthday.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: And now they're having a kid and she's upset that you won't go there, I guess now she'll understand how it feels.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I have come to understand, like, when it comes to kids, like, that's a different feeling that I have yet to be able to like put myself in and embody because I don't have children.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I know, like, if someone didn't come to my kid's birthday and then turn around and had a kid, like, I'm not showing up to your kid's shit either.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because if it's F my kid, hello.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: But also, as that is your new niece or nephew, like they're the ones being hurt ultimately.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: And as a person who used to be a kid who used to be in the middle of conflict with adults, like the only person who loses is the kid.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: So now that I'm older and wiser and not as petty, I would actually say, like, have the conversation um with your sister.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, granted, this child is not born yet, but I would say get it talked about, get it resolved before the child gets there so that they don't have to deal with the consequences of y'all beef.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, because a kid didn't ask for that, just like your kid didn't ask for that either.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully it can be resolved by the time the child is born, so you can be present and your sister can stop playing and be more present.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if that does not resolve anything, if she is still acting funny, then you gotta do what you gotta do because you gotta protect yourself and ultimately you gotta protect your child.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: And if someone has nasty energy towards you for whatever reason, then you gotta remove yourself and your child from that person.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I would bring it to her attention, let her know your feelings, set the boundary.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, it can be fixed before then.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: But if not, do what you gotta do.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I also understand if you don't go, because that's very hurtful.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope it works out.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: I hate when siblings uh are at odds, um, especially when it involves y'all kids.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, I'm wishing you luck.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: All right, y'all.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's it for today's episode.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, y'all should have done this at the beginning of the episode, but just in case y'all didn't, just in case y'all's phone battery died or something, y'all don't have connection, go to social media, make sure y'all are following us on all platforms.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: If down the line you have any inquiries, feedbacks, concerns, whatever, you hitting us on the email.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: And for I say this with love submissions, visit that tiny URL link and drop your info there.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: I hope today's conversation landed for you.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not believe in spirituality, I hope maybe this can help someone who does.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if not, just give you something to think about, open your mind a little bit.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, not trying to convince you, either way.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be cool regardless.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, nothing's getting in the way of this.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I just hope it's helpful.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to learn more about what y'all got going on.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope it was to your benefit, like it was mine, and I appreciate y'all.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: And as always, I'm RJ.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Alive I Guess podcast, and I'll see y'all same time next week.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'ma live.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'ma live like it.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'ma live like it.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'ma live like it.