In this episode, Anandi explores the topic of spiritual progress and discusses five key indicators that can help you recognize and celebrate the growth and transformation that you’re experiencing on your spiritual journey.
Transcript
(00:17):
Welcome to the Anandi Sano podcast and welcome to this episode. Today we’re gonna explore the topic of spiritual progress and discuss five key indicators that can help you recognize and celebrate the growth and transformation that you’re experiencing on your spiritual journey. So one of the first signs that you are making progress on the spiritual journey is a sense or a heightened sense of awareness. So as you become more attuned to your thoughts, emotions, and sensations, you may notice that you are more present and more mindful in your daily life. And you may also find that you are more attuned to the needs and experiences of others and you are able to connect with them on a deeper level. This means that you are become more conscious or you are becoming more conscious and present in your daily life, and you’re becoming more attuned to your surroundings, your thoughts, emotions, and your physical sensations, which is really important because we tend to shut down so much in our lives so we don’t have to feel in a sense and that we are not hurt by others or even hurt by ourselves with what we think and do.
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With heightened awareness, you may find yourself paying more attention to the present moment and notice in things that you may have previously overlooked or taken for granted. For example, you may notice the beauty of nature. Yes, we all go out to nature. We go, oh my God, this is so beautiful. But you’ll see it and experience in a different way. You’ll notice the sound of birds singing in a different way or the warmth of the sun on your skin. You may also find yourself more attuned to the needs and experiences of others and be able to connect with them on a deeper level. And this will slowly unlock itself and reveal itself to you the further that you move along your journey. So this increased awareness can be a really powerful tool for personal growth and transformation. By being more present and mindful, you will find it easier to identify patterns in your thoughts, your emotions, and in your behaviors that may be holding you back or causing you to suffer in life.
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You may also become more aware of your strengths and values and be better to align your actions with who you are and your true purpose. It’s really important to note that this heightened sense of awareness is not something that happens overnight. It is a gradual progress that unfolds over time, and it requires patience and it requires practice and self-reflection. So in this moment or in those moments, as you experience these things, you become aware of them and that you notice the difference within yourself. And as you become more aware, you can cultivate a deeper sense of awareness and presence in everyday life. So you know, the ways to develop this heightened awareness is through things like meditation and yoga and other practices, which I did on my journey. But then that became so much deeper and accelerated my path when I started practicing the teachings that source gave me with peak.
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And these practices helped me tune into my thoughts and my emotions and my physical sensations and and it was able to develop a greater sense of inner calm and clarity for me. And what peak was able to do as well was it made me take the time to slow down and be present in my daily activities. And that in itself was a really powerful way to cultivate awareness in my life. Well, we have to remember that heightened awareness is not a goal, but rather it’s a tool to help you navigate the path or your journey.
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Increased awareness is a really good way to gain insight into your true Nathan, into your true nature of who you are within yourself in every moment. And it also reveals to you your purpose. And with that, you continue to grow and evolve on your spiritual journey in the most wonderful and profound ways. So another key indicator of spiritual progress is an increased sense of compassion and empathy. As you deepen your connection to yourself, your inner self, the inness as I like to call it, and to the world around you, you may find that you are more understanding and accepting of others. You may also find that you are better able to see the beauty and potential in everyone and everything, even in the midst of difficulty and struggle and chaos. And you’ll be able to start to see that and the beauty of self for yourself. So it’s not just about feeling compassion and empathy for others, but we learn to start experiencing that for ourselves. And so many of us struggle with that in daily life.
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And as you progress on your journey, you’re likely to experience greater compassion and empathy towards others. This means that you’ll become more aware of their struggles and difficulties, and you’ll feel a deeper sense of connection to their experiences. So their experiences may be similar to yours, but you are able to not take them on but understand it from their perspective. You’ll begin to see the world through their eyes and you’ll be better able to understand and relate to their feelings and emotions. Whereas before, maybe we just responded in a way that was very different because it potentially triggered us as well as your sense of compassion and empathy grows. You may also find that you’re more accepting of others, even when their beliefs or actions will differ from your own. We’ve all had different experiences. We’ve all grown up in very different, different cultures, different settings. But as you go on the journey, you’ll be able to recognize the inherent value and worth in every individual regardless of their background or circumstances. And this can then lead to a greater sense of peace and harmony in your relationships, both with others and the relationship that you have with yourself.
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And then what happens with this increased sense of compassion and empathy also comes a really great desire to help others. And often we experience this desire to help others in a way before we’ve done our own healing and our own journey of growth, because it’s something that we feel that we need to do. We need to always give to others. But we find that as we start healing for self and growing, and this sense of compassion grows within us, the desire to help others changes, and as we change, you may find yourself drawn to do volunteer work or other forms of service that allow you to make a positive impact on the world around you. And this can be a really powerful way to connect with others to share your gifts and talents and contribute to the greater good. But it’s not coming from a place of needing something from someone to fulfill part of the thing that’s missing within self. It’s a very different way of living and expressing yourself within the world. So the next thing that we want to touch upon is a more authentic expression of self. So as you progress on your spiritual journey, you may find that you’re more able to express yourself authentically and honestly. And this can manifest in many different ways, such as able to speak up for yourselves. You are setting healthy boundaries with people and yourself and expressing your creativity and passions. So the things that you’ve shut down in life, you are able to go, no, I need this. I need this for me, for my growth so that I’m able to be more for others as well.
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And you may also find that you are more comfortable with vulnerability and who you are, your true self with others. As you become more connected with the inner part of you and your authentic truth, you may find that you feel more confident in expressing yourself, and you may start to notice that you are no longer holding back your thoughts and feelings to please others or avoid conflict and avoid conflict. I don’t mean that you then now express your truth in a way that you directly hurt others on purpose, but it’s a way of expressing yourself in gentleness and with gentleness and knowing that those truths may land in a certain way for somebody else, but you can’t be responsible if they don’t like your truth. And that this newfound sense of a self-awareness and self-acceptance can empower you to speak on truth. And you set boundaries and you communicate more effectively with those around you.
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And for some people that’s been so hard to do. You know, even in my br uh, even in my upbringing, it was you are seen but not heard, right? So it was you had to be quiet. And it always taught me not to have a voice, be quiet, be invisible, become invisible so that you don’t stand out. So it’s such a different way of starting to understand that you are worthy and your truth is worthy and it is worthwhile, and that you are worthwhile, and that is all part of this growth, this part of your spiritual truth as well.
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So in addition also to verbal expression, you may also find that you are expressing yourself more creatively, and that can be through art or music or writing, gardening or other forms of self-expression. And in that you will probably find that you have a greater sense of freedom and inspiration to create from a place of pure authenticity of who you are and who you’ve always been and what lies within you. And then with this expression of self, you’ll also find that you’ll will become more comfortable with vulnerability and sharing yourself with others. So everything builds on the next. It’s not something that can be in a silo. So as you uncover all these different things, it changes everything who you are. And then you can discover a deeper sense of connection and intimacy with those around you as you share your thoughts, your feelings and experiences in an honest and open way. And I guess then you also need to be looking at your community. Who are you with? Who are you speaking your truth with? And are they accepting of that? And then the next thing is one of the most, I think, powerful indicators of your progress and your spiritual progress is a deeper connection to the divine source, God, whatever you choose to call it. And as you continue to explore your spirituality and deepen your practices, you may find that you’re more able to connect with the divine that is within you and around you, and they cannot be separate.
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And you may also experience a greater sense of purpose and meaning in your life, as well as a really deep, deep, deep, deep understanding of the interconnectedness of everything, of all things. And if we expand on that idea of deeper connection, there are many people on the path that feel a sense of oneness with all things as they progress on their journey. And I know I hear that time and timing again for people who use peak as a daily practice. With that, they add other things, you know, the creativity and spending time in nature and all those sorts of things. And as you connect more deeply with the divine or God, you will also find that you are more able to trust in the flow of life and surrender control over outcomes. And with that comes a sense of guidance and support from the divine or higher power, oh God, which then becomes a really profound source of incredible comfort and peace. This greater connection to source God the divine will then also lead to a greater understanding the nature of reality and the purpose of existence and your existence. You may begin to then see life’s challenges, hurdles and difficulties as opportunities for growth and learning. And I always saw them
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As I moved along on my journey with peak as a a moment to heal because everything that came up that was suffering in a sense had that energetic component so that when I went into my layers and released the charge around, it allowed everything to change and shift. And so those life challenges weren’t there for extended periods anymore. And we all know what that’s like, right? Something will happen and we are so fixated on it, or there’s such a drama around it that our sense of compassion for self, for understanding just disappears. And so if we can use those life challenges as moments for healing and growth, we start to see ourselves and others through a lens of compassion and understanding. And this then the sense of healing and growth will lead to profound shifts in perspectives and a sense of liberation from the limitations of our mind and our reality and what we think we know and how we’ve been taught from a very young age to react and be in life. That deeper connection to source God is so transformative and it leads to a life filled with purpose and meaning and joy and such a profound inner peace
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That it, there are no words to describe it, and it will also be a source of guidance and wisdom as you navigate the ups and downs of life. And I think one of the important things is that it is such an incredible reminder that you are never truly alone on your journey in this life. And I think one of the final key indicators, and I’m sure they’re more of them, but I just wanted to talk about the main ones that I think are really important. So another really key big key indicator of spiritual progress is a greater sense of peace and joy within your life.
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As you continue to let go of your beliefs and your patterns and embrace your true nature and the potential that you have within you, you will find that you will experience more moments of peace and contentment and joy and a rising laughter of life within you. And these moments can come in so many forms and at such different times in the day. And it can be moments that these rise in moments of stillness or doing a peak practice, or even if you meditate or do yoga, or you are connecting with loved ones or you’re in nature and you have these moments of awe and wonder as you see life in such a different way than what you have before. When you are more aware, compassionate, authentic, and connected to the divine, it’s easier to experience a sense of inner peace and joy. And we have to remember that that doesn’t mean that you won’t face challenges or difficulties in your life, but it does mean that you are better equipped to navigate them with a sense of resilience and really deep in a strength.
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And as you hear more, as you become more empty within your layers, you become more spacious. You will also find that you’re more able to cultivate a sense of gratitude and appreciation for all that you have in your life. So there’s less seeking outside of yourself for those things that you needed to have before in order to feel better, in order to feel fulfilled. So this then can further enhance your sense of joy and contentment, and it will help you stay focused on the present moment, the richness of the moment in the now rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the next thing in the future. So in wrapping this episode up, there are, like I said, probably so many different ways to recognize and celebrate the progress that you’re making on your spiritual journey. So many people think that there needs to be these massive, you know, indicators and road signs that appear in front of you, you know, giving you the two thumbs up that yes, you have reached stage four, you only now have 325 things to do to get to the state that you believe that you are looking for.
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But it’s so important to reflect on the little things that are showing you that you are changing, that your healing and spiritual journey is not a destination and it’s not linear, and that there may be not, maybe there will be ups and downs along the way. And so often we hear people saying, oh, I think I’ve gone backwards. I’ve gone backwards. But when you talk to them and discuss what they’re doing and how their life has changed and how they’ve implemented things and how they’ve learned now to have a voice and express who they are and what they want and what they don’t want, and there’s a softening within, and there’s this understanding and wanting to be more vulnerable and not being scared of being hurt, people understand that that journey, the spiritual journey, is not something that you can just define by science that you baby seeking, but you actually don’t know what you’re seeking. You don’t know the signs that you are actually looking for.
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But by staying committed to your practices, and like I always say, there doesn’t have to be peak. That could be anything that works for you, but it needs to be something that doesn’t put you outside of yourself, that doesn’t make you rely on external things to make you feel better or give you a sign. It needs to be something that comes from within that, from your connection, from you to the divine, not something in between. And you need to stay open to growth and learning and experiencing. You can continue to deepen your connection to yourself, others, the world around you, the divine, and you can experience a greater sense of peace and joy within your life. And in conclusion, in a sense, there are so many ways to recognize and celebrate the progress that you’re making on your spiritual journey. And whether it’s a heightened sense of awareness, greater compassion and empathy, more authentic in your expression of self, a deeper connection to the vine or God, or a greater sense of peace and joy, each of indicators offers you a really powerful reminder of the growth and transformation that is possible when we open ourselves to the divine within and around us.
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So make sure that you keep exploring, you keep growing, you keep doing your daily practices, and keep celebrating your journey. Thank you so much for joining me today, and we will talk very, very soon. Many blessings. Thank you for listening.
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(27:45):
Thank you again,
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Many blessings, and I’ll see you next time.