Barefoot on the path: From performing spirituality to actually living it
Key takeaways from surrendering control and finding my authentic path.
I used to want to punch people who said manifestation was "easy."
Not because I didn't believe it could work, but because every time someone chirped "just visualize what you want and it will appear!" I wanted to shake them and ask: "Then why am I still here struggling with the same patterns, the same fears, the same life that feels like I'm swimming upstream?"
The truth is, manifestation isn't easy. But it is natural. The problem is getting to that natural state when you've spent years - maybe decades - learning to control, plan, and force outcomes instead of trusting the process.
And nobody talks about the not-so-funny part: the unraveling that has to happen first.
How It Started
Every decision, every conversation, every outcome - I had my hands on the wheel, convinced that if I just planned better, worked harder, managed more carefully, life would finally feel... easier.
Spoiler alert: it didn't.
The unraveling started when I finally got tired of my own exhaustion. But getting to that surrender point? That was the messy part nobody puts in their Instagram posts about "easy manifestation tips." Because learning to trust when you've been trained to control feels like jumping off a cliff blindfolded.
For me, I had to go all the way back to the beginning. Not metaphorically - literally. Back to that state you were born in, completely naked, completely vulnerable.
I had to experience the full rawness of being human until I found myself in that place we all started: the first scream, the first cry.
It's the best example I can find because that first cry is pure. It's before any story gets attached, before anyone starts wondering "why is the baby crying? Hungry? Uncomfortable?" It's just raw expression, no explanation needed.
This shift happened for me in less than 24 hours. I can't explain exactly what it was - maybe switching off the ego for a few minutes, maybe hitting rock bottom in the pit of emotions and finally saying "I surrender." Maybe both.
All I know is I found myself in that space where there was nothing left to control, nothing left to manage, nothing left to figure out. Just that primal cry of being alive and completely overwhelmed by it all.
And somehow, from that place of complete surrender, everything started flowing differently and things started... responding.
Let me start with angel numbers. The only thing about numbers that usually got me excited was parking in the 007 spot at the Aldi garage - made me feel special for about thirty seconds.
Of course I'd heard about angel numbers. When I was a teenager, seeing 15:15 meant the guy you had a crush on was thinking about you. Spoiler alert: it was just 15:15.
But something different happened after I stopped trying to control everything. When I recently asked for clarity about something specific, they gave me a series of angel numbers. Within 24 hours, a specific sequence that told a story and eventually answered my question.
Not just random 11:11s that you can interpret however you want. I'm talking about orchestrated sequences - each one building on the last until the message was so clear it was almost ridiculous.
The skeptical part of my brain kept trying to dismiss it all as coincidence. But then the signs started getting... playful. Random objects in patterns that directly related to what I was questioning. Objects that I associated with certain people, emotions appearing in the most unlikely places. They were so obvious, so perfectly timed, that ignoring them would have taken more effort than paying attention.
How It's Going
It pushed me to reflect on what brought me to this moment... and what embracing this path really was versus what I was expecting.
I expected rules, structure, a curriculum, check boxes, level up, become qualified to receive divine guidance.
I thought I needed to read the right books, take the right courses, and I guess I was secretly waiting for some grand epiphany - a moment when I'd suddenly "get it" and graduate to enlightened status.
While the books helped, to get more perspective and discover the vastness of the topics, movements, philosophies, for me, it was unlearning everything I thought I knew about how spiritual connection was supposed to work. Instead of adding layers of knowledge, I was stripping them away. Instead of becoming more complex, I was becoming more simple. More me.
Take meditation. Twenty years ago, a teacher told me I had to sit upright or "the energy wouldn't flow properly." I found the position uncomfortable, dismissed meditation entirely, and spent two decades saying "not for me" whenever stress relief was suggested.
But when I finally got curious enough to try again - lying down this time, ignoring the made-up rules - suddenly meditation "worked." Not because I'd found the secret technique, but because I'd found what worked for my body, my life, my way of being. The same pattern kept revealing itself:
Authentic connection happened when I stopped performing spirituality and started being myself.
What I've Learned So Far
Navigating the Spiritual Marketplace
While authentic guidance exists everywhere, there's also a not-so-new-age industry that's turned sacred wisdom into premium products. This is not a dig at practitioners that need to make a living. I mean, seriously, can you really release your inhibitions and feel the rain on your skin in this economy?
No, this whip is for the ones that have taken faith, mystery, and the search for meaning and turned it into a lifestyle brand with premium pricing. Here's how to tell the difference:
🚩 Red flags:
Promises of instant transformation or guaranteed outcomes
Claims that their way is THE way
High-pressure sales tactics disguised as spiritual language ("If you can't afford this, you're operating from scarcity mindset")
Complex systems that require expensive training to "unlock"
I've spent years in marketing, so I know a good sales funnel when I see one.
Whenever you decide to click the link in the bio or to unlock your true self, simply take a screenshot or copy and paste the content in any AI model and ask it to "extract the keywords used in this stage of the funnel".
✅ Green flags:
Teachers who share their path without claiming to have all the answers
Reasonable pricing that reflects actual work and materials
Encouragement to find your own way rather than creating dependency
Willingness to admit when something doesn't work for everyone
Your Voice Is Medicine - For You AND Others
Here's what nobody tells you about finding your authentic voice: it heals you first, then ripples out to heal others in ways you'll never fully understand.
I spent decades hiding behind others, playing supporting roles. But when I finally started sharing my real experiences - the messy, imperfect, authentic journey - something shifted. Not just for me, but for the people who needed to hear that they weren't alone in their struggles.
You don't need a million followers to make an impact. You can change one person's life just by being honest about your own. And that creates a chain reaction you'll never fully see.
It only takes one person's act of kindness, one moment of guidance, to change someone else's life and trigger a ripple effect that touches millions.
Without her neighbor Bertha Flowers, who visited her home to read poetry, Maya Angelou wouldn't have regained her voice after five years of silence. Without a teacher named Paul Aaron, we wouldn't have the Keanu Reeves we know.
I know some of you might think, looking at the state of the world, that it could have taken someone wearing a condom to avoid the current mess... But every authentic connection matters more than we realize.
The Beatles were right, All We Need Is Love
This brings me to my biggest takeaway, which connects to something that happened when I was seven years old.
I was raised in a Catholic family, started questioning many things from my first religion class and got expelled a serious amount of times. Then once, at the tender age of 7, I had to justify my mental resistance to the concepts that were being pushed down my throat (it was a different period). I had to discuss with this young priest and the first question he asked was:
"Who do you think God is?"
I naturally answered, "Not the guy described in the Bible."
He smiled and told me to be more specific.
And I said, "The one described in the Bible cannot be God. God is supposed to be the most superior form of love, but my father is actually a nicer person than him. Does that make my dad a demi-god?"
And then he laughed.
Then he told me: "Sometimes, we need to use stories to transmit a message. So as long as you treat others the way you would like to be treated, you should be just fine."
This is the point.
At seven years old, that priest validated what I somehow already knew: the complicated stories, the rigid rules, the complex systems - they're just packaging. The real thing is much simpler and has always been accessible.
Decades later, after surrender moments and angel numbers and signs that made me laugh, I realized I'd come full circle back to that seven-year-old's wisdom. The spiritual path wasn't about learning something new - it was about remembering what I'd always known but had been taught to doubt.
You don't need to qualify for divine connection. You don't need to master complex techniques or pay thousands for the secret formula. You don't need to sit in perfect posture or follow someone else's prescribed path.
No matter what you believe in - whether you're Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or you find the sacred in crystals, tarot cards, or conversations with trees - there are as many paths as there are souls. Even if you don't believe in something greater, your way of connecting with your values, your purpose, and what gives your life meaning is as valid as anyone else's.
And here's the beautiful truth: all roads really do lead to Rome. We're all walking toward the same understanding. Love. Connection.
You just need to trust the love that you already recognize, question what doesn't feel authentic, and treat others - including yourself - with the kindness you'd want to receive.