Welcoming God
Hey spiritual seeker! My name’s Sarah Haykel and I’m the host of Welcoming God, a podcast for spiritual seekers.
In this podcast, I’ll be sharing the goodness of Welcoming God back into my life after years of rebelling against the God of my Catholic upbringing and years of honest seeking on a personal spiritual path. I’ll share my consistently evolving understanding of God and what I’m learning on the path, to help create a God accessible to the every day person.
We’ll have honest and sometimes hilarious conversations about how to go from being a “spiritual” person to a God-loving person. Understanding God as a benevolent guide. What does it mean to have a relationship with God? What does it mean to surrender to God? Cultivating a spiritually mature understanding of God. Learning how to discern God’s truth and will for our lives. How to cultivate the most important relationship you’ll ever have, with God, on a daily, moment to moment basis.
Come along on this spiritually rEvolutionary journey where we get to know God.
This podcast is marked as explicit because there may be swearing or content appropriate for mature audiences in some of the episodes.
Welcoming God
The Benefits of Accepting Reality and Facing Denial
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What happens when we finally stop fighting reality and simply accept what is? Not resignation to circumstances, but a profound spiritual opening that transforms our relationship with life itself.
Most of us carry some form of denial—parts of reality we refuse to acknowledge or accept because they feel too painful, too threatening, or too disruptive to our sense of safety and happiness. This episode explores the fascinating dynamics of acceptance and denial, revealing how our resistance to what is actually attempts to protect us, yet ultimately holds us back from experiencing the fullness of divine grace and guidance.
Through thoughtful examination, we discover that denial often serves as a psychological buffer, shielding us from disappointment, fear, and discomfort. But what happens when we gently lower these defenses? As Eckhart Tolle suggests, accepting reality doesn't mean we have to like everything that happens—it simply means we stop arguing with what is, creating space to respond from inspiration instead of knee jerk reactivities.
The spiritual paradox revealed in this exploration is profound: when we fully accept the present moment exactly as it is, we open ourselves to divine inspiration and genuine transformation. God's benevolence becomes more accessible when we're willing to see things as they truly are, not as we wish them to be. Through practices of inquiry—journaling, silent reflection, or seeking professional support—we can cultivate this acceptance and discover what's possible when we embrace life on life's terms.
Ready to deepen this practice? Sign up for the Welcoming God email list at WelcomingGod.com and receive our new ebook companion to Season 1 with reflection questions to help integrate these teachings and create the spiritual life you're truly seeking.
Music by Song Channel Music. Listen at SongChannelMusic.com
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Check out Eckhart Tolle's work here.
Episode Introduction
Speaker 1Hey everyone, sarah here, just to let you know. Sometimes I do use swear words in these episodes and we may at times discuss adult content. In case you happen to be listening around, little ones or people that won't appreciate that. Thanks so much for listening and let's get right into it, hi, and thanks for joining me on Welcoming God, accepting what is. What makes it so hard to accept what is? Sometimes Do you struggle with this? I know I have definitely struggled with this and it has brought me face to face with my own denial about life as it is and always wanting, wishing, hoping something could be different. And, interestingly enough, working with my former spiritual coach really helped me process through this in a huge way and helped me understand that reality. Although it may feel painful or challenging or hard or traumatic or however else it may feel, there is something good in there. God's benevolence is here, it's with us, it's for us. So how do we come to terms with what we are in denial about and what's the benefit of that? Why would I want to come to terms with what I'm in denial about, with what I'm not accepting? What's possible when I accept the truth of reality as it is? What's beneficial about that. What could be the benefit of accepting the truth of reality how it is as it is right now? And then also, what is the denial trying to do for us? How is the denial trying to help us? That is a really powerful question too. We're not trying to villainize the denial or the parts of us that are denying reality, the truth of how things are right now. But what about just get curious about that and inquire what am I not accepting right now about this situation? What could be the possible reasons for that not wanting to accept the truth of the situation or reality as it is right now? What could be the benefits of that in my system? Like, how might that be trying to help me? Is it to help me avoid feeling disappointed or avoid feeling scared or uncomfortable? Is it trying to create safety for me? The denial, is that trying to benefit me in some way? How can it be helpful to start understanding what this denial is actually trying to do for you in a beneficial way? Is actually trying to do for you in a beneficial way? And then, how is that behavior not actually helping you? How could denial be holding you back, be hurting you?
Benefits of Accepting What Is
Speaker 1You know, just getting clear about so accepting life on life's terms, accepting what is, and does that mean that we have to stay in something that doesn't work for us? Well, this is how it is. No, it just means that we're willing to see what's real, what's true, right in front of our eyes, right in front of our faces, and we're willing to accept that reality in the moment. It's kind of like Eckhart Tolle says and I may have mentioned this in another episode before that accepting reality, that accepting reality, it doesn't mean we're happy about it all the time. But what does accepting reality allow us to do moving forward? How, if we just accept what happened in the moment, how does that allow us to be open, to be inspired by this beautiful life force, energy? We're a part of God, higher power source. How does accepting just what is right now allow us to be open, open up to inspired action from God, from source, the one true source? Eckhart Tolle didn't use those words per se, but that's the basic gist of what I got when I heard him talk about this that acceptance is powerful. And how does that allow us to be inspired to take the next right steps moving forward?
Inquiry Practice and Reflection
Speaker 1So I am going to leave you with this to inquire about and again think about what time of day will I inquire about this? How will I do it? Will I journal about it? Will I sit in silent reflection thinking about this question or these questions? Will I talk to my therapist about it? Or spiritual coach? How will I inquire about this question of acceptance and denial and what's beneficial about acceptance, what's beneficial about denial and how could denial be holding me back getting in my way? And what does acceptance allow? What does it actually allow in my life? How does it change things when I accept the truth of reality as it is right now? What's possible next? It is right now. What's possible next? And think about how many days you will inquire about this. Will you do it for three days, five days, seven days, 21 days? What time of day Do you need reminders? Think about how you'll hold yourself accountable to this. So thank you so much for joining me today and remember to sign up for the Welcoming God email list at welcominggodcom. I have a new ebook coming out that will bring you through the first season of the Welcoming God podcast and give you some reflection questions to process as you listen to that first season again, to fully integrate it and create that spiritual life that you're really seeking and looking for. Thanks so much for joining me and I'll see you next week for our fourth episode and final episode of our second season on Welcoming God. Episode of our second season on Welcoming God.
Episode Closing and Announcements
Speaker 1Hey everyone, sarah Haeckel here from Welcoming God, a podcast for spiritual seekers. This is a legal disclaimer to say that this podcast is not a substitute for therapy or professional help. I am not a trained therapist. I also have not studied theology in a formal setting. This podcast is purely for educational, inspirational purposes, to share the goodness of welcoming God back into my life and all of the things that I'm learning on this journey. So thank you for joining me here and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. Thanks for joining me on another episode of Welcoming God. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen and consider leaving us a review, as it helps more people find and benefit from this show. Music by Song Channel Music. You can listen and hear more at songchannelmusiccom. Until we meet again, aloha nui loa, take care and God bless.