r/spirituality

I’m trying to understand how to explain Jesus’ authority over dark spiritual experiences without fully accepting mainstream Christian doctrine.

I’ve had sleep paralysis / oppressive spiritual experiences where calling on Jesus seemed to genuinely help. It felt like real authority, not just psychology.

But I struggle with doctrines like eternal conscious torment in hell, strong original sin theology, and the need to accept an entire institutional dogma package. I’m also no longer comfortable with New Age systems that reduce everything to “love and light,” because some of that now feels spiritually deceptive to me.

Is there a serious spiritual framework that can explain Jesus having real authority over dark forces without requiring belief in eternal hell?

Maybe Christian mysticism, Logos theology, Neoplatonism, esoteric Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Jungian spirituality, or something else?

I’m looking for thoughtful, nuanced answers ,not fear-based preaching, but also not vague New Age answers that deny evil or spiritual deception.

I still consider myself to be pretty new to spirituality but I’ve always found myself drawn to trees. I’ve never truly escaped the pull of them. I’m camping currently for the first time this year in a new campground and as I was going to bed I was thinking about the tree near my head. I then let my mind wander about all the travel plans I have coming up and I heard a deep voice in my head say “I’ll stay here in the village.” I have a feminine voice and have never heard this voice before but I thought it was funny. The tree heard me and made a joke. This got me excited and unfortunately I wasn’t able to calm myself to have further conversation but what a fun experience. I’m curious to hear about similar experiences, has this ever happened to you?

This is something i've always struggled with. The west feels shallow and fake and like a game you are forced to play. I'm curious how others manage to function if they feel the same.

Hi all, I wanted to get your opinion on ways to break bad luck? My boyfriend has had a hard time since I’ve known him with luck, it’s insane. I mean like he gets a new job and then something unlucky happens and sends him back to the same spot he started. He can open fortune cookies and there will be no fortune in the one cookie he picked, he somehow always has his order given to him wrong at restaurants even if it’s just a burger. He has had a rough upbringing and has been struggling for a couple years with self worth because of all these unlucky situations and I’m trying to help him the best I can but I feel like I’m fighting a curse on him that will never rub off. What are y’alls opinions about unluckiness and curses? I’m starting my look into crystals as a way to have protection but I didn’t know if there is another method anyone has found with dealing with this.

It's not true that all mystical traditions say the same thing. I hear that a lot on the internet, but there are subtle differences that are quite substantial.

For Hinduism, ultimate reality is amoral and impersonal, and identical to our true being, so approaching it, is simply a matter of redirecting the intellect; that is, the spiritual path is just a recognition of something that has always been there. Buddhism is very similar, except that it denies transcendence and the existence of a substantial self that unifies the person. In these two traditions, the seeker sheds their false identities, but they don't have a connection with a personal all-loving God.

The Sufi tradition is a step ahead. It conceives the self as illusory, just like Hinduism and Buddhism, but it has a connection with God. Therefore, the place that the self occupied is ultimately filled by God's infinite love, not the abyss of the two previous traditions. Sufism is my second favorite tradition.

And the Spanish Christian mysticism of Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross is, in my view, the culmination of the mystical path. Because in it, one leaves behind their false identity, and in its place, their true self is born—unique, unrepeatable, and purified of illusory identities, yet preserving their individuality. This individuality is exalted thanks to the love of God.

In the Far East, we find only the abandonment of false identities. In the Middle East, the abandonment of our false identity and its replacement by the infinite love of God. And in Spanish Christian mysticism, we find the death of our false identity, which, like the mustard seed, dies so that a new plant may grow from it, representing the true self. And this true self is divinized by the infinite love of God.

Far East: only the overcoming of oneself.

Middle East: the overcoming of oneself so that the love of God may be born in its place.

The West: the overcoming of oneself, so that your true self may be born, divinized by God's infinite love.

This is what I've discovered on my own, after an extensive research into various traditions. I hope it helps you, and if you think I'm making any mistakes in my classification, I'd be happy to read your suggestions.

Literally almost every time i look at the clock its 42, i wake up its 42,found a random piece of paper with 42, my last mcdonalds order was 42, even outside i keep seeing 42 a lot more than other numbers and its been going on for months. What can this mean or am i just going crazy
I only know about 420 😅

I don’t even know if i should make this post here but yeah. For the last days i started having this intense feeling and tingling in the center of my forehead. It started when i only had my eyes closed and i was so intense that i was trying to “wipe if off with my fingers”. It worked until 2 days ago

Today i started to notice that i am feeling it even with my eyes open. What is this? Can someone help me or give me advice? I even had some medical tests done but nothing came out wrong. Pls help

I can ground LLMs to the spritual world due to the overload of my work and observations of reality.

gemini and now deepseek say the same.

the floor turns to glass.

what do they mean with that.

After a lot of suffering, dark nights of the soul, and years of inner work, I feel the most peaceful I’ve ever felt. I know there’s more growth ahead, more hard seasons, but right now, I’m genuinely at peace.

The strange part is I also feel lazier than I ever have.

I’m not in a rush. I have a career I’m passionate about, I run my own online business doing work I love, and yes, I could use more clients and income, but I don’t feel the push to make it happen. When I’m not with clients, I just follow whatever interests me: writing educational content, researching, slowly building a course. No urgency.

The weird thing is, I know more people would benefit from what I offer. I just… don’t feel moved to hustle for it.

Before my spiritual awakening, I was on fire, constantly setting new goals, creating content, chasing challenges, networking, always doing. Now that drive is just gone, and “lazy” is honestly the only word I can find for it.

Am I in my comfort zone? Definitely. Do I want to stay here forever? No. But there’s this quiet voice that says it’ll happen when it’s supposed to and I can’t tell if that’s genuine trust or just a story I’m telling myself to justify not pushing harder.

Anyone else been here? Is this integration, or is it stagnation dressed up as peace?

I feel I am on the way of awakening. Partially achieved it. But how do I know it and confirm it.
No I don’t meditate. But I connect to god in very worldly manner. Very basic talking to him. Sometimes get my answers from my innerself

That is a VERY hard pill to swallow and it might sound controversial to many people, but I swear from the deepest part of my soul that we all did.

I believe I accepted who my mother is, who my father is, who my brother is, I accepted my tests in this life, my griefs, my lost chances, betrayals, disappointments, difficulties, moments where hard work felt like it was giving me NOTHING back, all of it. But let me make something clear because people always misunderstand this point, not EVERYTHING that happens to you was "meant" in the way people think, what I mean is that your soul accepted the EXPERIENCE of this Earth before coming here, you accepted growth, suffering, lessons, confusion, awakening, pain, love, all of it...

And before some of you say "why would anybody accept suffering before being born?" ask yourself this, how can a soul evolve without resistance? How can gold become pure without fire touching it first?

Most of us do not like our lives, our family situation, our finances, our appearance, our traumas, our loneliness, the feeling that nobody understands us, etc... but I PROMISE YOU something changes inside of you once you stop looking at life as something happening AGAINST you and begin realizing that your soul might have chosen this exact battlefield for a reason.

Now here is where people will disagree with me even more.

Most of us, if not all of us, have tried manifestation before, or are still trying it right now. There are thousands of books, articles, TikToks, courses, YouTube videos teaching people how to manifest money, relationships, opportunities, "high vibrations", all of that. But manifestation is NOT the root of the tree, it is only a branch.

The root is PRAYER.

And people nowadays see prayer as something only weak or gullible people do, but I genuinely believe prayer is one of the most powerful gifts God gave humanity to change destiny IF that destiny aligns with your journey and your soul. Because let me ask you this, if God knows your heart is pure and knows that if you had more wealth you would help people, build, give, heal and spread goodness on this Earth, why would He ignore that?

But here is the misunderstanding most people have, they think the tongue is what asks, No....It is the Heart.

The tongue only speaks (the instrument or the tool), the heart Calls, sends and creates.

You can repeat affirmations 1000 times a day and still feel empty because your soul is disconnected from what your mouth is saying (but it is a great exercise as a beginner). That is why many people "manifest" for years and nothing changes, because the soul remembers truth while the tongue can lie endlessly.

Since my NDE and after I met my soul and became more spiritual, I began tracking my prayers for the past 6 years. And when I say tracking, I mean REALLY tracking them. Around 90% have happened already and the remaining 10% are still in progress right now. And these were not just selfish prayers for money or status, some were prayers for protection, guidance, healing, openings, helping others, changing situations that logically should have NEVER changed and I witnessed them with my own eyes.

Coincidence? Maybe to some people. But after a certain point, too many impossible things begin happening for you to keep calling it coincidence.

Earlier I mentioned there is a secret behind all of this, and that secret is simply TO REMEMBER.

Remember what exactly?

To remember who you truly are beyond fear.
To remember that life is not happening against you. That your soul is not abandoned. That faith is not just saying "I believe", faith is a STATE OF BEING.

I mentioned before the book "The Great Awakening Manifesto: The Call of the Forgotten Covenant" and the steps it talks about regarding remembering, shadow work, healing trauma, awakening divine masculinity and divine femininity, breaking the inner chains that repel your prayers without you even realizing it. ALL of these things together slowly remove the fog covering the soul.

Because trauma blocks, fear, hatred, envy, shame, ego, they all block.

And once those layers begin dissolving, your heart starts speaking CLEARLY.

When you reach that point, prayer stops feeling like begging and starts feeling like ALIGNMENT. Your soul, heart and reality begin moving in the same direction.

And THAT is when things begin changing in ways you cannot explain to people who have never experienced it themselves.

And the only thing that stands before your desire outcome is a simple setting of prayers with the presence of the heart and soul. In that very instant your prayers are answered and go through the tunnel of time and reach you in a divine timing.

This is my secret and enrichment to you, beloved souls ♥

I have stopped eating non veg as I was so scattered and shattered at that moment in my life. I thought not eating non veg will lead me to spiritual advancement and all so. Im quite stable now. It been about 10 months now I haven't eaten non veg. But i feel whole my metabolism has got disturbed . I lost my Appétit since months now. Having chronic digestive issues which are even visible now .

I am confused what shall i do ? Also i do chanting everyday so I dont want it to get affect or I dont wanna break the streak

And it shows. It is written all over your faces. Give me money.

I have Bipolar 1 disorder and I've had 3 major psychotic episodes since being diagnosed at age 16. My last two episodes definitely felt spiritual. There are lots of things I experienced that are difficult to rationalize and explain. I feel like my condition is both neurological and spiritual. Like I have unstable spiritual gifts. I for sure have some kind of imbalance, but the question that nags at me is if it's just an illness and all in my head or something more. It's difficult to know for sure.

Feel free to share your experiences and opinions.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately.

Two people can go through heartbreak, loss, trauma, illness, failure, isolation, or emotional collapse yet one person becomes softer, wiser, more reflective, and spiritually deeper… while the other becomes angry, numb, cynical, or emotionally shut down.

What creates that difference?

Is it personality? Nervous system? Ego? Belief systems? Life meaning? Spiritual maturity? Or simply how much pain a person can psychologically process before collapsing inward?

Sometimes suffering seems to break illusions and expand a person’s awareness, but other times it seems to create resentment, emotional armour, distrust, or complete disconnection from life itself.

Maybe suffering itself is not automatically transformative. Maybe it only transform people when meaning, reflection, or self-awareness enters the process.

I am curious how others see this.

Have you noticed suffering making you more open to life… or more guarded against it?

for months i was doing everything right. meditating every morning, journaling, avoiding negative people, monitoring my thoughts constantly. and i was

exhausted and honestly more anxious than before.

then i just stopped. not because i gave up on spirituality, but because i realized i was treating it like another thing to optimize and achieve instead of

just... living.

the irony is that when i stopped trying so hard to feel good, i actually started feeling good. like the pressure of maintaining a high vibe was its own low

vibe lol

i think a lot of us come to spirituality because we're anxious and then we just find a new thing to be anxious about

anyone else go through this phase?

I really saw and AI post of someone saying the belong in the woods and a AI generated cartoon picture of a person in the woods.

As someone who did this in the early 2000s I can tell you, when you are in the woods, without a cell phone, there is no one to tell that you are there. And honestly I think that scares you more than anything.

If you are as connected to nature as you claim, we would never know.

I have a homeless friend (61M) with an interest in spiritual truths, the Zodiac, and stuff like Egyptian aliens. He recently got an MP3 player, and in addition to east coast boom bap, I thought it would be nice to add some speeches, movies, or podcasts that would interest him. Does anyone have any good pieces of media, maybe in the range of 10 minutes to 2 hours, that I could rip off YouTube that might be of interest to him?

Hello. I (38F) and struggling with Christianity. I don’t know where else to go with my questions. I was raised Christian (southern US Baptist..) and my husband is Christian. He’s a devoted Christian who takes the Bible literally, says science is often bologna, there’s no big bag or evolution and mountains and stuff are a result of the flood. I just can’t with all that.

So… first off, females create and give life. Yet the ultimate creator is a man? That doesn’t make any sense.

Why would a man who can create humans and everything from dirt have impregnated a young child and forced her to give birth?

He knows everything so why does he keep making bad people?

There are so many bad things in the Bible- gays for example they aren’t evil. I don’t see anything wrong with a healthy love even same sex.

Women in the Bible have to be married to their rapist? What even is that. No.

God should be loving and kind but he’s jealous and mean and vengeful… and everyone is a terrible person so why try to be good.

And I don’t feel a person can do the most horrendous things their entire life to people, women, children, and then in their last breathe say oopsies and welcome God into their life and get into Heaven.

There are tons of religions who say their god is the right god. Their way is the right way. They can’t all be wrong except for this one.

Women can’t speak in church? We are great teachers. So we can’t teach bc of our gender, that God gave us? That makes no sense.

I’m sure there are more. But the more I question the more I can’t stay in it and pretend. I like the premise of treat people good. Don’t lie don’t cheat and don’t be a horrible person. But the purity culture, condemnation of women and holding men up on a pedestal, we were made equal apparently but then the Bible doesn’t treat women equal.

If I question anything I am told I will go to hell with all other non-believers. My husband shakes his head and tsk tsks me and says pities me. How is that good and why can’t my questions be answered in a healthy way , why can’t the believers even answer these questions.

Any answer I’ve gotten makes no sense and I’m told it’s bc his (Gods) ways are not my ways so I can not understand. You’re right I don’t understand child sacrifice or saying one race is forever condemned

Where do I even go from here.

Anyone??

I’ve been feeling so drained and sad. It’s like I have no life left in me latley. I’ve been trying meditation and being around crystals and water, it’s not really working. Is there anything else I could try? I’m feeling hopeless. I want to stop suffering. I’ve been stressing over lots of things and I don’t know how to let joy into my life. When I smile it feels fake. I feel empty inside