IsaTales: The Importance of a Spiritual Journey
The path towards enlightenment may be daunting. How much of "life" do we have to sacrifice?
There's not a cookie-cutter answer, of course. However, the steps are clear. We drift in and out of an awakening, until we one day we are fully woke. Through that wokeness, we begin to excavate the spirit and discover our soul. Enlightenment is the constant state of living in alignment with your soul. But how do we get there?
We chatted with IsaTales, wellness coach and creator of The Lazy Thyroid Diet to understand the spiritual journey.
Sometimes the universe has greater plans for you than you have for yourself.
So what does a "spiritual journey" mean anyway? What is a "spirit"? Do we all have one? Where do we find it? So many questions. So much time.
Just kidding. I'll try to make this short and sweet. By definition, "spirit" is the nonphysical form of a person that holds the emotion and character of your inner being.
Let that marinate for a second.
Many of us are out of touch with our inner self. It's truly more common than you would think due to the over-stimulating society we live in (surprise, surprise). We are in a consistent rush for satisfaction. We get so caught up in the day-to-day, that it's not surprising we lose our inner self (or our spirit) unintentionally.
Cue the spiritual journey.
Reconnecting with your inner self is so important, primarily because that is how you grow. Look back at the past 10 years of your life. When did you grow the most? Were you present, or were you living your life in fast-forward?
When we live our lives in fast-forward, we change for the worse instead of the better. We develop habits that are untrue to our innate selves and then those habits mask the truth years later, making us unsure of what is true and what is untrue. Comprende?
When I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 7 years ago, it was one of the busiest moments of my life. The easiest thing to do at the time was to slap a Band-Aid on the situation and take the synthetic thyroid hormone I was prescribed.
On the surface level, things were fine and dandy — straight A student, decent relationship, supportive family, a fun side hustle, good friends — but inside, everything started to crumble. My body was crying out for something more and I couldn't dissect the need.
Maybe I should start going to church again, I thought. Maybe I should sign up for an unlimited yoga membership.
Soon enough, everything that was crumbling on the inside started to show cracks at the surface. Anxiety attacks, good relationships turned toxic, but most importantly: I lost my path. Desires that once drove me no longer motivated me.
Because of the relationships I burned and the turbulent character that I painted myself, I knew the only person I could go to for help was me. I had to go within.
What does that look like, you ask? It was a lot of walks outside with headphones in but no music playing. It was a lot of lying on my carpet, starring at the ceiling, cycling my thoughts through the truths and untruths. It was walking around with no shoes on so that I could feel grounded, and watching sunsets and sunrises so I could remember there is something much much greater than myself out there, and that the universe has a plan for me and that my soul knows that plan.
It took 4 years for what I thought was my "conscious" to tell me to reconnect with myself, when really it was my soul squeezing messages through, amidst the daily internal and external chaos.
By this time I had graduated college, dropped my successful career in fashion and started making a living off of researching and truly understanding the soul, the universe, self-care (and thyroid care, in my particular case), and making sure all walks of life are living up to their highest Self by connecting to their inner self.
Spirituality is one of the most important primary foods our bodies crave. If there's one thing I can promise you, it's that you will feel more full on a daily basis (your cravings will dissipate, your skin will clear) if you feed your spiritual desire. It doesn't mean you have to go to church or rub a Buddha's belly. It can be as simple as sitting outside in the grass or lying on your bedroom floor.
Get in touch with your mind. Reconnect with your five senses. Feed your spirit regularly and the mindbody will follow.
Stay connected with UWM to get first dibs on IsaTale's thyroid-friendly Mayan Spiced Cacao Pudding recipe!
IsaTales (Isabelle de Burgh) is a plant food connoisseur and holistic wellness advocate. Her journey to health is motivated by her own struggle with hypothyroidism and a central desire to bring awareness to the varying forms of natural healing and the "food as medicine" movement.
She received her B.S. from the University of Southern California and has extensive training in health coaching through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and a background in public relations and community entrepreneurship.