Awakening to Spirit: Navigating Freedom Beyond Religious Structures

What happens when you leave the confines of organized religion to seek a more authentic connection with your true self? Join us in "Finding Our Way Home," where we explore the profound journey of spiritual awakening for those stepping away from traditional doctrines. Expect to uncover the delicate balance between truth and deception in religious teachings, and learn how spirit serves as a guiding force on this transformative path. We'll discuss the art of listening to your inner voice, and share valuable resources, including newly released books, to support your journey. Our discussions emphasize rising above societal chaos with spiritual maturity, embracing love and non-judgment as foundations for personal growth and accountability.

As we prepare for a new era of enlightenment, we tackle the challenges of blazing your spiritual path without fear or control. We'll guide you on trusting your spirit for personal growth, encouraging freedom and self-trust over rigid structures. Learn the importance of finding a community of like-minded seekers and understanding various religious teachings to foster a richer spiritual experience. This episode promises insights into achieving happiness and a deeper connection to the divine by trusting your intuition and experiences. Let us help you return spiritually home, finding peace beyond this physical existence while preparing for the societal shifts ahead.

Chapters

• 0:00 Finding Our Way Home - Understanding
• 18:57 Preparing for Spiritual Awakening
• 27:18 Trusting Spirit for Personal Growth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:59

Welcome everyone, welcome back, welcome back to another episode Finding Our Way Home. Of course, I am Richard Ravenbrook. You know this podcast is We've changed the name several times, trying to find the perfect name that fits for exactly what it is that Spirit's trying to do, fits for exactly what it is that spirit's trying to do, and it seems like different titles for different times and different mannerisms. You know, basically, just what's going on in society and what's going on in our life. Some of us are just now leaving religion. Some people are finding their way home, but you know, in finding our way home, but you know, in finding our way home, that can be the roughest, toughest, most rockiest place there can be. We're going to start this New name. We're going to start this with a new season. We're going to start this with Not only the podcast, but we're going to have literature, books to go with it.

Speaker 1: 2:10

As many know, we have put out several books. A Rising Voice Publishing LLC has put out many different books the Christian Witch, the Deconstructing of Religion, several books that will help Christians or anyone that is leaving religion and finding their way back to, whether it be paganism or just the old ways or whether it just be. But there's all kinds of literature that has come out now, whether it be paganism or just the old ways or whether it just be. But there's all kinds of literature that has come out now, even the magical path, a journey back to our roots. So many, the deconstruction of religion is an amazing one. But for those people that like to walk the Christian witch path and don't quite understand how to put all the pieces together to make it acceptable or how to explain to others why it is acceptable, the brand new book the Christian Witch, a Journey of the Spiritual Understanding, just came out. And if you can't afford it, if you can't afford to purchase any kind of book, let me know, shoot me an email and I'll send you a code so you can get it for absolutely nothing. Just send me an email and say hey look, I can't. You know it's tight, money's tight right now. I'll send you a code. You can get it on Kindle or any other e-reader Absolutely free. I'll send you a code. You can get it on Kindle or any other e-reader Absolutely free.

Speaker 1: 3:46

But what Spirit wants to talk about today is that finding our way home. When we reached that point, we kind of finally surrendered, didn't we, we kind of surrendered to the Spirit in the knowledge of things just weren't right, we just weren't happy. We knew within our own soul, within our own spirit, that where we were and what we were being taught or what we were teaching was not completely and totally correct. The sad part about some of the doctrine that is preached today is it's not all lies. Some of it is truth. It's just got enough falsehood to it to deceive. Just enough truth to keep many people happy in pursuing it.

Speaker 1: 4:52

But it doesn't give you everything. It keeps you with limited power and in maximum control and in maximum control. And when spirit begins to shake you and shake you off of that tree with all the other fruit, you know it's. Things change, everything changes, and I wrote these books, I put out these books to help and what you have, something physical in your hand to go back to and to, so you can remember, something that you can study from. But nothing is, nothing is more powerful, nothing is more, nothing is better than spirit. You know that quiet little voice that's within you, that's already been guiding you for so long. Spirit's amazing. We have our own spirit within us and I Believe I've taught this.

Speaker 1: 6:08

But you know what is a soul. Soul is when spirit comes in contact with a physical vessel. That is the soul. It is our physical essence, our mind, the things that we've learned here on earth. Spirit is the essence of life, that sparked, that gave breath to this physical body. That's why, when the body dies, the soul leaves, the spirit leaves. There is no soul without the body. We are spirit in a physical experience and when we begin to find our way home, we find ourselves and who we are not. Who we are is the person that our parents named us, not the person that's on your Social Security card or your ID, but the spirit that is within you. Who are you? Who are you that, when this physical vessel passes on, that you will continue, that you will move forward onto a new experience, onto new learning. We don't know everything that's going to happen, but we do know that this is not the end. Every religion and every theological thought Understands that this is not the end. We may have our different ideas, we may have our different names and titles, but in itself they are all the same. We live and breathe, we love and we die. We love and we die, but it's what we do in between all of that, what we do from birth to death, what we learned not just from this physical world, but what we learned from the physical and how it's applied to the spiritual. Why is this life so hard? What makes it so hard? What makes it so difficult?

Speaker 1: 9:00

Emotions seem out of control in today's society. It seems like we're bound and mixed in this chaos of emotions and opinion and insults and people just you know being offended and you know I've said this once before, many times before actually that offended and being offended is a matter of spiritual maturity. When you become spiritually mature, you'll no longer be offended by what people do and what they say. That you won't, it won't matter within you, because you'll understand that whatever it is that they're doing, it's okay because it's not you doing it and the only person you're responsible for is you. You are the only one that will be held accountable for what you do and what you don't do. That's why we say love is all we need in this world, and stop judging and stop ridiculing and stop condemning and stop trying to play God and telling people what they should believe and how they should live and how they should not live, what is right and wrong for their lives, when it's not for us to decide that. We've said that.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Well being in society, we have to conform to certain rules and certain laws and certain and I agree to that to a point. But when those laws begin to restrict others simply because of a theological thought, then we've crossed the line. Laws of morality are different than laws of safety protection. And you know we have a speed limit. Well, we're supposed to have a speed limit. I don't think most people follow it anymore, but we have that for our own protection. We have that for our own protection. We have that to bring in some kind of control so that if everybody were to follow the rules, less people would be hurt. That law is for everyone. It doesn't discriminate between race, religion, gender or anything else. It's all the same for everybody.

Speaker 1: 11:50

But if you take that same thing with, say, a religious person that says well, I only believe that marriage is supposed to be between a straight man and a straight woman and that's the only thing, and everything else is a sin and cannot be allowed in the United States, well, that law is infringe upon someone's ability to love, to be with the person. That is the person for them. It would interfere with their will, their desires for life, their desires for life and, as I've said before, if God, him or Herself, will not intervene against a person's will, but will allow each and every one of us to live as we choose to live, then who are you to try to change or make it or be any different than God? Your accountability resides only with you and theirs with them.

Speaker 1: 13:18

But we have so many people out there right now trying to control. We're trying to bring back the Bible in schools and we're trying to make abortion completely illegal and actually make it to where it's a homicidal crime. You know and it's sad in spirit to know that women are going to be treated with such indignity and disrespect and dishonor that I'm not one that likes abortion, but I am one that understands that there is a time and a place and that there are circumstances and situations where it is a must, and what those things are should be between the woman and her doctor, no one else. When the woman's life is in danger, when a young child is impregnated due to incest, things of that nature, and then we sit back and say that well, they have to have this child or they'll go to jail, because God is pro-life and would absolutely be against all of this. And to those people I would say have you read your Bible at all? The entire Old Testament and a majority even of the New Testament? God is telling people to go out and slay everyone, including the children. God is telling people to go out and slay everyone, including the children. That this is the same God that killed every living soul on this planet except for one family. That's not pro-life, not in the way that you're saying pro-life is. Even God knew there was a time and a place that a line has to be drawn and sometimes it is what's best.

Speaker 1: 15:31

But we've got people out there that are trying to play God, that have no idea of what divinity and godliness actually is. Because if your godliness is based upon law or you know just rules, then you have no divinity and you know God. You don't know God at all. God is spirit, same spirit that I've been talking about. When spirit leads me here and spirit leads me there, you can call God by all kinds of different names. You can see God as manifested in any form or in no form whatsoever but energy. Some people see God in physical ways, in physical manifestations like Zeus and Thor and just you know so many Odin. We see the gods in so many different ways, but that's our perception of how we see things. But that's our perception of how we see things. But it all, when it comes down to it, it all centers back together. It's all the same. God is spirit and spirit has no physical essence in and of itself, but when spirit matches with physical, it manifests into a soul and a real physical being, and I hope this all makes sense. But we're trying to find our way home. We surrender to all that we surrender to all that we surrender to.

Speaker 1: 17:26

You know the idea that you know I've lived this, I've lived this life and I've been this particular religion for so long and then, all of a sudden, it, you know it's. It's not that it's a lie, but it's not the complete truth. And then I have been complete truth and that I have been lied to, and I've been lied to by the people that I love and that love me, and that I've been lied to by people that honestly think they're telling the truth, and that many people are being deceived day after day after day because they believe in what they're doing and there's no other greater power than a person that is that believes in what they're doing and has the faith and the strength and the boldness to push through it. That's a dangerous person, especially when what they have is not the truth. You know, the truth is a very narrow, narrow way. Sometimes it's a lonely way, sometimes it's a way that is full of thorns and full of obstacles, because it's not very well traveled, because all the other paths that are well traveled and already cleared, those are all the people that are just following after each other, not really listening, not really learning, not really caring. They just follow.

Speaker 1: 18:58

But you know that that's not the direction for you. But the direction for you requires you to blaze a new path and that's not easy. But if we do some research and we sit down and we ask Spirit, spirit leads us to other people that are going through the same thing. And even though there's many times that you will have to walk alone and that you will be faced in times and trials where people will question you and will verbally hurt you and insult you, and that's when the spiritual maturity comes in To understand that don't be offended, don't be angry, because they come at you with good intention. They don't understand they know not what they do and just continue on with what you know you need to do be. You continue on that path. Speak a word of manifestation and attention, or pray for those people if you choose that maybe a glimpse of light will show them the way as well, that maybe they'll stop just being followers and that someday that some of them can actually be leaders to help others Not necessarily follow the leader, but to be their own leaders themselves, to be able to lead themselves through these trials and storms that we go through in this life.

Speaker 1: 20:49

This life is hard that we go through in this life. This life is hard, and it's hard because, or it's harder for us that desire more spiritually, those of us that desire truth. You know it's harder. It's so much easier just to believe that, well, these people, they go to church once or twice a week, they work, they pay their bills, they have some family time and they think that, well, that's all there is. You know they're completely happy.

Speaker 1: 21:25

But then there's us that toss and turn at night, knowing that there's more out there, knowing that there's a greater power than what we see. And it's because we are pulled out, we are separated from them, not because they're any different or because they're bad or anything else, but because we were meant for more spiritually. We were meant to teach, we were meant to help in the balance the balance of truth and lies and deceit To help guide the true ones. Because a gathering is near, a time is near, a new time, a new society, new time of enlightenment is so close that most of us can feel it within our we almost get goosebumps and the hairs on our arms stand up, because we know, we feel it, that something great is about to happen. Some of us see it in different perspectives, in different lights. We know we see things as we choose to see them. We see them as we were raised in our traditions, and that's why a lot of people see god in different mannerisms and different, in different forms and fashions.

Speaker 1: 22:59

But and that's perfectly acceptable, because, as long as we don't, how do I want to say this? How do we? As long as we don't, how do I want to say this? How do we, as long as we don't lose the fact that this walk is for us and that we have to continuously keep looking in, the gods are always there to assist us and to help us, to help us, to help guide us, but it is up to us to take those steps. No one is going to us to take those steps, no one is going to pick you up and move you. It is up to you to keep moving forward. They may give you the boldness, they may give you the courage, but you've got to be the one to chop through that forest of thorns and to push through To find that one tree of life that grants you all the things that you are looking for. Take some time and think about the things that Spirit has said about finding our way home, because right now, right now is such an important time. January 20th is coming up. Many people are very afraid. They have very good reason to be afraid. World is in chaos, this country is in chaos and I have a real big feeling things are going to get a whole lot worse and we need to stick together, us like minded people. We need to be able to find a way to stick together.

Speaker 1: 24:44

You know, subscribe to this podcast, share my books that are out under Richard Ravenbrook. You can find them on Amazon, google Play, kobo books, just like Kindle. You know, apple books you can find them on Apple books and, like I said, if you can't afford them, just shoot me an email and I'll give you a code where you can get them absolutely, absolutely free, because spirit goes into those and there's a lot of education in those. A lot of you know how to find the similarities Within the different religions and why what you're doing is not wrong and when people come at you and want to argue, well, what about this and what about that? You'll have something to argue back if needed. Always remember don't argue with someone that's not ready to learn, because all you'll be doing is throwing pearls to the swines. They're not ready to learn, they won't accept anything. You try to teach, but what you do is sometimes you just plant a little seed, you mention something that you've learned in the books or through the podcast or through spirit, hopefully and you just walk away, because arguing a lot of times just makes it worse.

Speaker 1: 26:18

But our education, our time with spirit, creates a wisdom in all of this and when we're trying to find our way home, home spiritually Home, to when this physical body is gone, it's time to go home. This isn't all Believe in that, whether you've left the church or whether you've left any other mainstream religion and people try to tell you that you're not going to go. You're not going to go to our heaven. Yes, you will go where you were supposed to go. Spirit will go back to where it belongs and spirit does not die to where it belongs and spirit does not die.

Speaker 1: 27:19

A lot of control, people preaching hell, preaching damnation, and all this. If you don't follow all these rules, it's sad in spirit Because you can't grow enlightenment and love. And through fear, not that kind of fear, there is a fear in wisdom that you know that it's for your best good, it's for the better good, it's for your best good, it's for the better good it's for. But this kind of fear over control that if you don't do this you won't get that, that's not love, that's not spirit. Spirit is completely free, complete liberty, freedom to explore, freedom to explore, freedom to express.

Speaker 1: 28:15

And the lessons that we learn come from those things.

Speaker 1: 28:18

Because we know when we've made a mistake.

Speaker 1: 28:21

We know it because we feel it within us.

Speaker 1: 28:25

We feel the pain within us when we've messed up, because that's spirit.

Speaker 1: 28:33

And we know within us when we're on the right path, what makes us happy and what makes us want more and what fulfills us and brings us joy. Those are the things that we need to continue, because spirit is telling us these things. We need to learn to trust Spirit. We need to learn to trust that little voice that's within us. Trust is the way to finding our way home. Not trusting in just other people, not trusting in a particular teacher or a mentor, but taking those things as a guide, yes, but trusting yourself, the Spirit. Don't be afraid to make those mistakes. Don't be afraid to make those mistakes, just don't be afraid, or don't stop spirit when spirit tries to convict you or to lead you somewhere else or to reward you in any kind of way, by feelings of joy and acceptance, because that's how we learn. May each and every one of you, this very week, come to a greater realization of who you are and a greater closeness and connection to the divine and everything around you. Be blessed everybody and blessed be. Thank you.