Introduction to Spirituality

By Nicola Hayley

Get a guided tour of the world of new age spirituality

Ever wondered what channeling is? Or wanted to understand how meridians work? Maybe you've struggled with meditation, or found yourself contemplating your karma.

 

Whatever you're curious about, whether it's breathwork, qigong, energy work or astrology, you'll discover more enlightening details within these pages.

 

Dive into the world of spiritual practices and new age beliefs in this visual guide, packed full of simple explanations and practical exercises that you can begin using in your life right away.

 

Emerge with a solid understanding of the basics of over 100 topics, including manifestation, life purpose, journaling, yoga, auras and Reiki.

 

Other subjects you'll encounter in this book include:

• Soul mates and twin flames
• Angels and guides
• Vision boards
• Chakras
• Meridian tapping
• Intuition and psychic abilities
• Astral projection
• Shadow work
• Spiritual bypassing

Clear explanations and practical guides

Each topic begins with a simple, plain English explanation, and includes things like:

• Definitions of key concepts
• Concrete examples
• How things work
• Helpful diagrams
• Step-by-step processes
• Tips and traps
• Benefits and risks
• Common questions

and finishes with simple, practical actions you can take to explore the topic further and begin applying it in your life.

 

Kickstart your spiritual exploration

When you're done reading this book, you'll have a sold foundation for exploring the world of spirituality.

 

You've satisfied your curiosity about one or more topics, and you've decided what to keep and what to ignore.

 

You're also itching to explore one or more topics in more detail, using the many other amazing resources available to you.

 

You're starting to construct a model of the world beyond the five senses, and you feel more equipped to take your life in the right direction for you.

 

You're excited to apply the ideas and practices you've learned to your everyday experience, and craft a form of spirituality that works for you.

 

Everyone's spiritual journey is unique, including yours.

You get to choose what you believe, and what's true for you. No-one else gets to tell you what to think, what to feel or what choices to make, including me.

 

You are free to pick and choose what you please from the pages of this book. Take what works for you, and ignore the rest.

 

Every step you take on this journey is helping you grow, and there's no right or wrong way to do it. Move at the pace that works for you, and gradually you'll create your own unique approach to spirituality.

 

Your approach won't look exactly like anyone else's and that's OK. In fact, that's exactly how it's supposed to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WIsdom Stirring
• Release date: Apr 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9780648646532

Book preview

Introduction to Spirituality

A Beginner’s Guide to New Age Beliefs and Spiritual Practices

by Nicola Hayley

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Copyright

Copyright © 2023 by Nicola Hayley. All rights reserved.

This eBook is published by Wisdom Stirring, Melbourne, Australia.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without express written consent.

For more information, contact Wisdom Stirring at [e-mail]

Interior design, front and rear cover design and artwork, and author photo by Nicola Hayley.

Interior photos licensed from Deposit Photos.

eBook ePub edition - USA

ISBN 978-0-6486465-3-2

Errata

If you have any feedback or suggestions for improving this book, or find typos, factual

errors or omissions, please email them to [e-mail]

You may not receive a response to your message, but know that we truly appreciate your

well-considered input and suggestions.

Dedication

For Paul, who has supported me and cheered me on at every step of the way on my own spiritual journey.

Thank you for always believing in me.

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Disclaimer

This book is for educational purposes only, and is designed to help you make informed decisions about your life. It is not intended to replace professional advice and should be used to supplement information from other sources.

The topics covered in this book are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. The information in this book should not be construed as a claim or representation that any practice or item mentioned promises any specific outcome in any aspect of life.

All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this book at the time of publication, and this book may be updated as new information becomes available. The author cannot be held responsible for any inadvertent errors or omissions.

This book covers spiritual ideas that are not necessarily mainstream. It is left to your discretion to determine if the techniques, ideas and recommendations outlined are appropriate for you.

If you choose to make use of the information contained in this book, you assume full responsibility for any decisions, actions and outcomes that may result. Your results may be different from those experienced by others.

Contents

Introduction

Starting out

Popular ideas

The self

States of mind

Spiritual practices

Physical activities

The body

Healing

Tools

Divination

Art and design

Other spiritual traditions

Other dimensions

Other beings

Other concepts

Conclusion

Thank you

A gift for you

About Nicola Hayley

Acknowledgments

Reading list

Appendix A

Introduction to Spirituality

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Your journey is unique

Everyone's spiritual journey is unique, including yours.

You get to choose what you believe, and what's true for you. No-one else gets to tell you what to think, what to feel or what choices to make, including me.

You are free to pick and choose what you please from the pages of this book. Take what works for you, and ignore the rest. And then, in a few months or years when you're looking for more, pick it up again and take the next thing you're ready for.

There's no rush, no pressure, and no deadlines. Every step you take on this journey is helping you grow, and there's no right or wrong way to do it. Move at the pace that works for you, and gradually you'll create your own unique approach to spirituality.

Your approach won't look exactly like anyone else's and that's OK.

In fact, that's exactly how it's supposed to be.

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Why I wrote this book

Once upon a time, not so long ago, after my spiritual journey was well underway, I had a friend who came across the idea of energy work. She'd heard about it and was ready to know more and dive deeper into the world of spirituality in general.

I was keen to support her on her journey, and searched high and low for a thorough, approachable book introducing the world of spirituality and new age concepts that I could gift to her.

But everything I found focused on one specific modality or belief system or technique, as though each of us in the world of spirituality finds our favorite thing and becomes an expert in that, but no one's a generalist.

Except for me.

For years I've been exploring the world of spirituality and new age concepts, trying out this and that, looking for the ideas and techniques that suit my personality, and struggling to embrace my spiritual side.

As a result, I have experience in a huge range of topics, and an awareness of many more, along with the ability to see both the bigger picture and the details, with an organized, systems-thinking approach to the whole topic.

So I decided to write this book for my friend, and for you, and for everyone else who's just starting out on their spiritual exploration, and wants someone by their side who can explain all the weird and wonderful ideas that you might come across along the way.

I want to share what I've learned about spirituality along the way, including how to create a version of spirituality that's unique to you, in a very practical, hands-on kind of way.

If you want to get to know me even better, head over to my website at WisdomStirring.com.

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What this book is not

This book is not complete

This book is not, and will never claim to be, a complete guide to the world of spirituality. That's an impossible task for anyone, because that world can be very nebulous and is extremely subjective.

Instead, the aim of this book is to be a primer, a starting point, for anyone who's becoming aware that life is more than just the five senses and the daily grind, and needs a safe place to start.

The topics I've included are some of the ones that you're most likely to come across as you begin to explore, to help you get up to speed quickly on a particular topic, and understand where it fits into the bigger picture. But this book most certainly doesn't have everything.

This book is not deep

This book also does not claim to be an authoritative reference to any of the topics covered. There's simply not enough space in a book like this to cover anything in depth.

It is, by its nature, a very high-level, simplified introduction to each topic, to help you grasp the essential concepts and decide if it's something you want to learn more about.

There are plenty of specialized books on every topic available if you want to dive deeper, and I've referenced some of my favorites at the end of the book.

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This book is not objective

Spirituality is a highly personal, subjective experience. As a result, you may disagree with the way I've presented information, how I describe certain concepts and techniques, and opinions I've expressed in my writing.

Happily, we don't have to agree on everything in order to respect each other. I certainly respect your right to see things in your own unique way, to form your own truths about the world and to choose what you believe in, and I trust that you will do the same for me.

This book is not right

This book also does not claim to have all the answers. That's impossible, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to manipulate you, guaranteed.

Nobody has all the answers, not even some of the higher beings we'll discuss later in the book. Everyone comes to this experience from a unique perspective, with a unique past and a unique set of potentials, seeing just a small fraction of all that is, and experiencing each sphere of spirituality in a totally unique way.

So instead of spending your energy and time trying to figure out who's right and who's wrong on any given subject, instead focus on figuring out what's right for you.

That approach will serve you every single step of the way.

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My approach to spirituality

Feel free to skip this section if you don't want to be influenced by how I do things.

The last thing I want is for you to think I'm trying to tell you how you should do spirituality. After all, this book is all about helping you figure out how to do spirituality your way.

But if you'd like to take inspiration from the approach I've developed for myself over more than 40 years of life experience, I'm more than happy to share my perspective with you.

If you decide you don't agree with my choices, ignore them.

If you like my choices, borrow from them.

Simple.

Still here? OK, let's get into it.

Note: If there's anything in this section that you don't understand, it may be covered in the topics contained within this book. Feel free to skip to those sections if it makes what I'm saying below clearer.

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Principle 1 - Everyone's truth is different

I spent a lot of time on my spiritual journey in my logical brain, trying to figure out the right way to do things or the right answers, until I realized an important central tenet in my personal philosophy, which is that there is no one single way to do this.

Everyone's experience is unique, everyone's needs are different, and everyone's path is something only they can truly define for themselves.

All we can do is share our own experiences in the hope that others can extract for themselves the pieces they need to continue building their own journey of growth.

But there is no single source of truth and there is no single way of doing this thing called spirituality. As soon as I recognized that, I was able to give myself permission to follow my instincts to the tools, ideas and experiences that serve me best.

Corollary - Nobody has the one true way

Don't let anyone tell you that their solution, or their perspective is the only right one, or the only one that works.

Anyone who says that is either deluded, trying to trick you, control you or sell you something, so feel free to disregard their point of view.

Corollary - You have to figure out what works for you

Because there's no one true way, you have to do the hard work of figuring out the ideas, tools and experiences that work for you.

No one else can tell you this. Sure, people might be able to give you hints and pointers, but it's entirely up to you to decide how to shape your journey and your future, which leads me to the next principle, responsibility.

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Principle 2 - You are responsible for your experience

This is a concept that I struggled with for many years.

In the early years of my relationship with my husband, Paul, I would often ascribe responsibility to him for my emotions and experiences.

But I eventually realized this meant I was giving away my power to him, by letting his actions dictate how I felt, and by extension, to the world in general.

Once I began accepting that the only power I truly have is over my actions and reactions to the things that happen to me, I started shaping my life in a more deliberate way.

And as a result, my life began to transform in ways I never expected, to the point where I have flipped from spending much of my time in drama to having a very stable experience most of the time, with only very rare moments where I'm knocked off my feet.

Corollary - Blaming others is non-productive

We live in a society that loves to throw blame around, and accuse everyone around us of doing terrible things to us.

And while that might seem true and valid, it is ultimately non-productive - it gets us nowhere.

Instead, it positions us as the victim of an uncaring world, powerless to do anything to change our experience, and frankly, I don't like that feeling.

I'd rather believe that I have the power to do something to change my life for the better, and so I've chosen to stop wasting time and energy on blame as much as I can.

Corollary - You can change your life

Once you start to operate from the idea that you are one hundred percent responsible for your experience, you realize that you have the power to change things.

Maybe, to begin with, not in huge ways, but you can begin wherever you are to change what's right in front of you.

And even if the only thing you change is how you see what's happening to you, from less of a disempowered place, that's still huge.

After all, if the only thing that happens is that you feel better about what's happening to you, then at least you feel a little better. Isn't that all we're really looking for anyway? To feel better?

But the big secret is that once you start to change how you see things and feel about things, those things start to change.

Corollary - You are not responsible for anyone else's experience

This one was even harder for me to learn and accept, but once I did, boy was it liberating!

It's not about giving myself permission to be a complete jerk, but instead, to be the best person I can be, without feeling like I have to apologize for how others experience me.

If I do something that someone doesn't like, then how they experience that and their reaction to me, is not actually my responsibility to fix.

It would be easy to see this as being uncaring and selfish, and that's exactly how some would see it, but instead, it frees me to be more of my true self, and trust that whatever people experience when interacting with me, it's up to them to find the value in it.

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Principle 3 - You are surrounded by guidance

This is one that I am still working on to this day, but I now have enough accumulated experience to know that this is completely true.

My entire life lesson seems to be about learning to listen to, trust and follow my guidance, and my journey has been about disconnecting and reconnecting with my inner nudges and instincts in order to take control of my life.

I have a very strong, analytical mind that wants clear evidence before proceeding on a course of action, and it readily minimizes and discards the guidance I receive.

I have had incredibly clear - and difficult - experiences where I chose not to follow my instincts and ended up in the midst of a train wreck. And not just once, either.

I have also had times where I chose to follow those subtle hints and urgings, and things worked out for the best (even if I couldn't see it at the time). And the more I do this, the better things get.

So every day I work to allow my guidance in, accept its gentle pushes and trust that by following it, things will work out.

Corollary - You don't have to do it all

As you work to let in the guidance that surrounds you, you begin to realize that it's not all up to you.

It's not just about how much effort you put in, how many things you get done or how many mountains you can move.

When you do the work to shift your perspective, drop your limits and work with the world that surrounds you, things get easier and better, and you don't have to do it all.

Corollary - The Universe has your back

This can be a pretty hard one to accept, especially when bad things are happening to us and around us.

But as you begin to embrace the guidance that surrounds you, it gets easier to see how everything is working to help you.

The expression God helps those who help themselves captures this idea well. As you begin to take ownership of your experience, you also get supported via these subtle nudges that move you further in the direction you want to go.

And what's not to love about that?

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Principle 4 - You get to choose your focus

This can be a tricky one to master in a world full of distractions and noisy things demanding our attention, and it's something I have to work on every single day.

But ultimately, the only two things I can control in my life are what I focus on and how I react to the world around me. And learning to choose my focus has been incredibly transformative for me.

When I first started practicing this idea, it kind of felt like I was deluding myself. Like if I choose to ignore something bad that's happening, I'm basically sticking my fingers in my ears and chanting la la la, not listening, not listening.

However, when I am deliberate about where I place my focus, I gain more control over my emotions, I feel better more often, and the world that I experience improves, so I can't argue with that.

Corollary - You get more of what you focus on

There's this part of our brains called the reticular activating system (RAS), which is part of our ancient brain and is designed to help us pick out threats and identify valuable resources at a distance.

These days, it helps us hear our name in the middle of a noisy room, or see our favorite dog breed or car model everywhere.

By choosing our focus deliberately, we can use the RAS to our advantage, and experience more of what we focus on. After all, we only have so much attention to give in our insanely busy lives, so it makes sense to be picky about what we let in.

If I consciously decide to appreciate my kids doing nice things for me, and ignore the less-than-desirable stuff, then my RAS will help me see more of the good stuff and less of the bad.

By choosing our focus, we shape our experience to include more of what we want, and I like the way that works.

Corollary - Gratitude can be powerful

I've been practicing gratitude daily for more than four years, after burning out at work and realizing that something needed to change.

At the end of pretty much every day, I sit down and reflect on what happened, and find something to appreciate, no matter how small or unimaginative.

Some days I can only find one good thing to write down, but that's my bare minimum, and it seems to be enough. Other days, the good things just spill out of me, and I know I'm in a good place.

But since I began my practice, my life has changed in unbelievable ways, and I ascribe much of those changes to my focus on gratitude.

These days I don't even write them all down. I just bask in appreciation as they happen, and know that by choosing to appreciate them as they happen, I will keep seeing more things to appreciate.

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Principle 5 - It has to work

At the end of the day, I'm a pretty practical person. I'm just not that interested in spirituality for the sake of it - it has to translate into tangible benefits for me and my life.

As a result, I've tried out many, many different ideas, teachers and modalities in my search to find a spiritual framework and set of tools that suit me.

I'm interested in efficiency, so I discarded many techniques that required huge time investments, complicated rituals or produced only marginal results for the effort involved.

I guess, deep down, I truly believe that miracles are possible, and I continue to look for the spiritual practices that deliver results with the least amount of effort.

Corollary - Be picky about your practices

I think sometimes we struggle to feel like it's OK to give up on a particular spiritual practice, but with an absolute plethora of tools and techniques to choose from, it becomes important to be selective about what we spend our time on.

If you've given a spiritual practice a fair go and it's not working for you, or it just doesn't sit right with you for some reason, then let it go.

Life is too short to waste time on fruitless or misaligned activities, especially when it comes to our spiritual journey.

Corollary - Focus on the results

It can be easy to get caught up in the belief system surrounding a particular practice, and forget the original reason we engaged with it - for the results it produces.

Be willing to put all opinions aside, including your own, and take a cold hard look at the results you're getting in your own life.

If things aren't working the way you want, something needs to change. Don't hold onto anything that doesn't give you the life you want, just because you