HUBBLElife Episode 14. Is That the Spirit?

If the Holy Ghost is real and communicating with us… how do we actually recognize Him? In this episode of Hubble Life, we explore how the Spirit speaks—through thoughts, feelings, impressions, and peace. We also talk about how to tell the difference between the Spirit, our own emotions, and the noise of everyday life. If you’ve ever wondered, “Was that the Spirit or just me?” this episode will help bring clarity and confidence.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Hubble Life, where we are learning to see our lives through an eternal lens and better understand who we really are. Last episode, we talked about who the Holy Ghost is, that he is a member of the Godhead, and that he is here to help us along this journey. He's not just a feeling, but a real person, a person who communicates with us. And today we're just gonna build on that a little bit with the question that I think all of us have asked at some point. And I know I ask this a lot. Was that the spirit or was that just me thinking? Um, because even when we believe the Holy Ghost is real, recognizing him can feel confusing. Here's why it feels hard. Most of the time, the spirit doesn't come in a loud or obvious voice or way, it's not some big event and emotion and crazy loud. It usually comes different. It's not a dramatic moment, it's it's not always a clear voice or a big sign. Instead, most of the time it comes very quietly. And because it's quiet, it's easy to second guess, and sometimes it feels like, did I just think that? Maybe that was just me. Maybe those were my thoughts. Am I overthinking this? Did I just make that up? And the truth is that learning to recognize the spirit is something that we grow into over time. It doesn't just happen. We have to learn this skill. So let's talk a little bit about how the spirit speaks. How does he talk to us? What is what does that look like or feel like? The Holy Ghost most often communicates through thoughts and feelings, impressions, and maybe even clarity. Sometimes it might feel like a peaceful feeling, you just feel good. Um, or a clear direction. Maybe, maybe you've had those moments when you're you've been pondering something and maybe a new job or something new that you want to do, and you all of a sudden receive very clear direction. That would be the Holy Ghost, or maybe a recurring thought, something that keeps coming back. Um, and you circle around to it. For me, kind of like Hubble. I feel like that's something that was always churning in my mind. This this idea of having understanding, be believing and living extraordinary and trying to help others to do the same. Like that thought just kept kind of coming back, and and recognizing that the Holy Ghost speaks that way can be helpful. In Doctrine Covenants sections eight and nine, we learn that revelation comes to the mind and the heart. So it's not just thinking and it's not just a feeling, it's it's often that those two pieces work together, where your your thoughts and your heart, your mind and your heart connect and it feels right. Um, the scriptures describe the spirit in very specific ways. In Galatians, we learn that the fruits of the spirit are love, peace, patience, and gentleness. So often when the spirit is present, it will feel like calm, even in uncertain times. And you've probably experienced that when chaos is going on around you, or there's something super stressful in your life, your family circumstances, maybe health of a family member, um, a job, or even selling a house. Um, I remember when we were trying to sell our home to move here to our new home, we knew it was right, but our house wouldn't sell, and it just stayed on the market for a really long time, and we kept feeling like it's it's okay. Um, even though we were uncertain, and that was looking back, it's often then when you can see that the spirit was working in your life. Maybe it's clarity, even when you don't have all of the answers, and you just you just feel determined and directed in a certain way, and you're very clear on that, that is also a way that the spirit speaks. Maybe it's a quiet confidence. You just are are confident in where you're standing, and you don't have to have um the approval of others to feel like you're doing the right thing. It's a quiet confidence, it's not pressure, it's not fear. The Lord doesn't work in fear, and it's not confusion. Those are not the ways that the Holy Ghost will speak to you. The spirit will invite, it doesn't ever force. And so it's important to remember that when you feel something, to to really maybe look at that and question okay, what is the root of this emotion? Let's talk just for a second about the spirit versus emotion versus anxiety. So these are some of the different ways that people, including myself, it it can become confusing sometimes. Was that the spirit, or am I just, is that anxiety? Um and there is a there's a difference. So this might be helpful to understand what the difference is. The spirit will help you feel calm, calm, consistent, and clear over time. It invites and it reassures, it testifies of truth. Emotions, they can be strong, they can also change very quickly. Um, and they are not always rooted in truth, they come from a different source, right? Those emotions can sometimes swing back and forth really quickly. And anxiety and fear, this is one that I've had to battle a lot. It's easy for me to be fearful or to find have anxiety. Um, and I remember reading one time in the scriptures, pray always that you know won't be tempted, or whatever. And I thought, this is such an interesting scripture to pray always that I won't be tempted. What am I tempted to do? I I didn't really feel like I was tempted to do a lot of things that were maybe contrary to what God would want me to be doing, and I found it really interesting though that immediately I was taught a lesson that I am tempted to be fearful, and that's something that's easy for me. It's it's quick for my mind and my emotions to go to fear, and so to pray always that I'm not fearful or that anxiety, because anxiety and fear will show up like urgent. It has to happen right now. It's loud, it's very pressuring, and it can be very confusing. What do I do? So, here's a simple way to think about it: the spirit feels like peace and direction. Anxiety will feel like pressure and confusion. I'm gonna say that again. The spirit feels like peace and direction. Anxiety and fear will feel like pressure and confusion. Those are two different things. If you look back on your life, there are probably moments that you can think of where you felt prompted to do something small that ended up being big later on. Um, when my oldest son was going to start kindergarten, I remember just I didn't even think about this at the time, but I thought I should not put him in kindergarten and I'll just hold him back. And it was just a really subtle thought. It wasn't anything profound, there was no big thunderbolt or anything like that, and I just thought this would be good for him to hold him back, and it when we fast forward now to um a junior in high school when he started to have his heart problems, and a senior in high school when they were even more prevalent in his life, and um I remember the third time we were in the hospital and he was being cardioverted, um, and I thought what's going on? Why is this happening? It was a very fearful time for me, and um they had told me he was anyway. That's a whole nother story, but in that moment I remember praying and thinking, why is this happening um right now? And having the spirit whisper to me that this moment in time when he was in kindergarten years and years ago saved his life. That if I had not held him back in kindergarten, he would have been out on a mission and he probably would have died. Because the first time he had this heart issue, the doctors had told me if if he had been gone, he'll die within 48 hours if he doesn't get to a hospital when this is happening. And I I remember thinking, wow, I had no idea that that little moment in time, that little decision had come from the Holy Ghost. And I had seen how he had directed our our lives all through middle school, even when he wanted to skip a grade and we just didn't feel great about it. And but I never thought for a moment that that was God speaking to me and and the Holy Ghost telling me that he needed to stay because it would save his life one day. Now that's a dramatic experience in our life, but I think as we look back and we are in tune to the things that have gone on in our lives and we recognize those, you can see that you were prompted to do something small that ended up years later becoming very clear on why that happened. Maybe you felt peace about a decision that didn't seem like that. It could give you peace. Maybe you felt guided even if you couldn't explain it. Um, and later it becomes clear, and that's how the spirit works. We recognize it more clearly as we look back and we connect those dots. But here's the thing: it takes practice. We learn through practicing. Recognizing the spirit isn't isn't about getting it perfect every time or understanding it, it's about trying, it's about acting, and it's about paying attention. Sometimes you'll act on a prompting and you'll think, I don't understand this. Was this really the spirit? And that's okay because over time you begin to notice patterns and you'll start to see how he speaks to you. You'll start to maybe recognize how it feels and how he shows up, um, and you'll start to understand his voice. And and that's the other key. He speaks differently to each of us. The way I hear him will be different than the way that you hear him, but it takes practice, and I have to learn that and I have to recognize that and try to try to understand that. So this week, try something simple. When you have a thought or a feeling that is good, peaceful, or inviting, act on it. No matter, you know, don't overthink that. Don't wonder, did I just think that or whatever? Just act on it, even in really small ways. Send the text, say the kind thing, make the choice that feels right, and then notice what happens. The Holy Ghost is communicating more often than we realize. I think he wants to talk to us more than we understand. President Nelson, I just was reading his talk when he was first made the prophet of the church, and I think in there he quoted that like I think I might get this wrong, Hebrew C. Kimball. Anyway, that the Holy Ghost has so much to teach us and wants to teach us. We just have to be open to learning. We have to recognize that he's there. And the question isn't, is he speaking? It's am I hearing him? Am I learning how to recognize his voice? You guys, this will change your life. It will change my life. The more I understand him, the more I recognize his voice, the greater things I can do. So as we have understanding about how he speaks to you, and as you become believing, be believing, believe that he will speak to you, that he talks to you, that he's waiting and wanting to be part of your life, you will live an extraordinary life. You will begin to feel more confident, you will begin to feel more guided, and you'll begin to be more connected. Try it this week. Try doing the little thing. Just listen. Spend some time with him and practice hearing his voice. Thank you for being here. Have a humble life, and I'll see you in the next episode.