Am I On The Right Path? I’m Doubting Myself.

Every other week I get a message from someone who has recently started out on their spiritual practice and wants to know if they are on the right track or not. It has happened so often that I now accept that this is a common concern, so I thought I would talk about it a little bit. I do not see a lot of people writing about this, so I hope I can fill a gap in our information sharing.

The first thing that should be said is probably the obvious – there is no one way of doing our spiritual practices or magical workings (unless, of course, you belong to a religion or traditional practice). So it can be hard to know if you are on the right track or not – basically this is between you and your own moral compass. Do you have a good knowledge and relationship with your moral compass?

No one is going to come and grade or rate you, no one is going to give you marks or a certificate, so how do you truly know if you are on the right track or not??? Some people might say that it doesn’t matter, that practice is enough, and trying to measure your practice is a waste of energy. I am fully going to challenge that and not just because of the numerous messages I get about the topic. Here is why – we are a social species and get most of our information from our environment and each other, that’s just a fact. It is normal and often necessary to get feedback from other people, and I personally think it is smart to ask experts!

With that being said we are often without that sort of information or feedback from experts, and many of us are hesitant to even reach out and ask. Why? For some reason or another we have this strange perception that being spiritual means knowing all of the answers already, or that “the answer lies within”. Well, that’s a cool story….but sometimes that is untrue, and other times that message is completely irresponsible. We live in a culture of toxic individualism that completely undermines our interdependence.

Do you want to know where to start in your practice? I will always say the same thing:

· Grounding

· Protection

· Cleansing

· Banishing

· Attraction

Read a lot about these practices and explore how other people do it. Researching will allow you to measure what is right for you and what isn’t. When you are ready to start putting methods into practice choose a couple of different approaches and see how they feel to you. Check out your ancestry and try some of their methods.

FYI not every spiritual practice will feel natural right away, so do not use this as the means to measure if you are on the right track or not. Just like anything else in life some things take effort. I know in our spiritual circles people will tell you that if it is right for you then it will just flow, but in my experience I have had to work for most things to be good at it, and my spiritual practice is no different. Sure, some things will flow and come naturally to you, but others will require some dedication and work.

Once you have started your practice and want to know if you are on the right track or not you can do a simple self-reflection to assess. This will take some quiet time, journaling, and possible meditation. What you want to do is measure the practice by asking yourself the following questions:

· What is the practice? Explain in detail what you do and what its purpose is.

· What are my thoughts about the practice? Explain any thoughts that come up.

· What are my feelings about the practice? Explain any feelings that come up.

· Knowing how I think and feel about the practice, do I believe I am on the right track or not and why? This will give you your answer.

Brightest Blessings

Elizabeth Blackthorn