How To Know If Your Faith Sustains You — Or Just Causes Stress
Be mindful of whether your faith is bringing great peace and ease into your life or if your faith is quietly complicating your world.
Super8 / Shutterstock Have you ever questioned what you have your greatest trust in?
Maybe you are one of those people that live with such deep conviction that nothing could ever shift your perception of this life or the afterlife. Faith is built on what we believe to be true about the world we live in. We all have beliefs, or faith, that subconsciously and consciously influence our day-to-day decisions.
At first glance, faith is often based on what is believed to be good versus bad. This belief system is often created by our upbringing, society, and life experiences. With all that being said, it is completely possible and healthy to gain an expanded faith as your perceptions and mindset shift.
As you read this, be mindful of whether your faith is bringing great peace and ease into your life or if your faith is quietly complicating your world.
Was this faith developed over time or are you living under the constructs of someone else’s beliefs?
Is your faith linkd to your fear?
Many people profess a faith that includes possible evil influences or hellish outcomes. When people believe in a version of Hell, they usually attempt to create a life far from that scenario. Everyone’s idea of Hell or eternal misery is different. Does your faith include the possibility of Hell or purgatory?
As we live our life, we weave on and off the path that promises personal glory. After all, we are human. For some of us, glory is acceptance into a dream college, and finding the perfect partner. Failure to accomplish this and other goals can become a personal hell. Worrying about the believed failure opens the door to suffering and therefore living in some degree of hell.
What if your faith wasn’t based on good versus bad? How would it feel to believe that life is an experience that you co-create with the Universe or Source? This mindset could alleviate suffering.
Most of us have some very powerful convictions. It can be very insightful to determine if your faith is founded on love or based on fear. In your deep moments of connecting to your truest beliefs, do you feel completely love-struck, or stuck in fear? How do you feel in the searching moments of your life?
How deep is your faith?
Some of your faith and beliefs are stored on the farthest shelves of your mind. You might not be able to identify everything you are faithful to. It takes a transformative situation that calls for self-reflection and self-awareness to reveal your forgotten or hidden faith.
When you explore what beliefs you are most loyal to, does it complicate your life or bring ease and peace into your days?
Does your faith feel like love?
Can your mind reach beyond any fragments of fear and find peace regardless of the outside world?
Having faith in a higher power that doesn’t judge or punish, will help you let go of punishing yourself or believing you are failing. Knowing that there can always be love in your life, even if it sometimes holds hands with grief and disappointment. A loving faith will always stay near you through all the ups and downs.
Has your faith evolved?
Do you believe the unspoken rules that designed your faith? An example of living in accordance with your deepest beliefs might look like this. If you trust that you live in the flow of abundance, it is easy to let things go. You trust that your life is always abundant. You are living in alignment with a belief system that evolved with you.
What if you were raised to believe hard work and determination will get you everything you want, and yet you struggle with obtaining your dreams? Maybe you begin to believe you are not working hard enough, or maybe your faith led you to a place where you feel inadequate. This is a perfect example of needing to shift what you have faith in.
An example of a faith explored
Arizona's sunny days are just starting to remind us of the heat we will experience this summer. I love going out on the trails early in the morning. It is not uncommon to see familiar faces somewhere on the path. Sometimes I see new people. Usually, I say good morning and continue on my way.
One of my favorite trails has a little stone bench that is the perfect place to stop and drink water, or just give thanks for all that is.
Recently when I arrived at the sweet little bench, it was occupied by a middle-aged man. We began talking, and it wasn’t long before he was sharing that he is at a crossroads in life. His lifestyle was changing and he was questioning much of the fearful and sometimes harsh beliefs he was taught in his childhood home.
Every day brought more questions than answers about the faith he had lived by for 50 years. He wasn’t turning his back on his family. He just wanted to let go of the practices that keep him stuck in a mindset that caused him pain throughout his life.
He shared about seeing colorful orbs as a child but knew he couldn’t mention it. He had other experiences as a child and adult that didn’t align with the faith, he was raised in. His belief system is actively shifting. He is ready to live life fully and this requires discovering his own faith and trusting his internal guidance.
Signs your faith is evolving
As your faith evolves, life flows easier. It will become easy for you to look at other possibilities or meanings in life. This doesn’t mean you are redesigning your life with every choice out there. It simply shows you are living with an open mind and heart. Challenges and transformative times are expected, but change is not resisted. As your faith evolves, life becomes easier to live in.
What about the suffering in the world?
Regardless of how evolved your faith, heart and mind are, we can usually find suffering in the world. I invite you to turn to your faith and know this is beyond the human mind to fully comprehend. We can also make lifestyle changes to decrease the suffering in our world. We can choose to do what is aligned with our faith and notice when the suffering shifts from our view.
Don't be afraid to explore your faith and what you believe
Have fun exploring what your deepest faith is. What do you believe about yourself as a person and the universe at large?
Now is the perfect time to let go of ideas and feelings that have limited your life. Imagine that releasing past perceived failures and anger is like reshuffling the deck in your subconscious. This allows your awareness to expand and your faith to shift into a holy space. This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with self-love.
Find comfort in your growth and your ability to evolve.
Polly Wirum is a spiritual coach and psychic. She teaches clients how to discover their truth through psychic readings, astrological readings, and intuitive life coaching. She offers guided meditation and, in some cases, guided exploration of past lives.