What is the point of Spirituality if it doesn’t help you accept yourself as you are?

What is the point of Spirituality if it doesn’t help you accept others with all their quirks and faults?

What is the point of Spirituality if it doesn’t help you accept the rhythm, pace and direction of your life?

What is the point of Spirituality if it doesn’t help you accept life as it is?

If all your Spirituality is doing is making you want to leave this life and jump to a better one, is it really Spirituality? Or just another way of avoiding your life?

Most of what we call 'performing Spirituality' is really just avoidance. Avoiding your emotions, avoiding your feelings, avoiding who you are now, avoiding what life is showing you now… all in the hope of something better.

Acceptance doesn’t mean compliance or staying stuck. Just because you accept yourself, others, your life doesn’t mean you settle for what is. It means understanding that life is what it is, but you can choose to make it better. But not by skipping the bad parts. Not by jumping over the hurdles and hoping that the path is clear. Not by hacking your way through it, or looking for shortcuts.

But by living through the life that you have, while building the one you want.

By being who you are, while building the version of you hope to become.

By accepting others for who they are, while knowing that everyone has their own journey, just like you.

And Spirituality is meant to help you with both parts of it, not just the latter.

Accepting what is, while building what you desire.

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In the last Eunoia session, we spoke about Acceptance. There is no longer “teaching” in the traditional sense inside Eunoia anymore... It’s been 4 years after all. We have conversations mostly now, deep conversations that go in directions you never could think of, that give answers to questions you didn’t know you had, that ease parts of you that needed to be heard and felt… Conversations with ourselves, conversations with parts of us, conversations with each other.

Everyone’s spiritual journey is unique. You make a lot of mistakes, you learn from it. Then you realize they weren’t mistakes in the first place. And it is good to have company on this chaotic, confusing and challenging journey. That’s what Eunoia provides now - a space to connect, to feel connected, on this journey of being Spiritual… not performing Spirituality. To accept life as it is, while building the one we want.

Because that it is the point isn’t it? To share. To grow. To heal. Together.

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Something for you to reflect on… Is what you’re learning and practicing helping you accept or avoid your life?

Nothing is wrong either way… Just like nothing is ever a mistake or a wrong choice in this journey of life. But once you become aware, you can choose differently. And I hope you do.

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Interestingly, all of the letters I wrote this month, turned out to be about Practical Spirituality. Totally unexpected, but I think it was a good start to this Eunoia Letters series! What would you be interested for me to dive into in the upcoming letters? Comment below or reply and let me know!

And as always, Eunoia doors are always open — for conversations, company and community <3

Distractions are a part of life. Mental, physical and emotional disturbances seem like they happen exactly when you don’t want to be disturbed.

We think we need to have a distraction free time to do important things. And while that may be true - we need to realize that it most often would not be the case. Unless you have no responsibilities, people you need to take care of, humans living around you, work you need to get done… there will be distractions.

And we lose our train of thought, forget what we were doing, can’t seem to find our way back, get mad at whoever or whatever caused that distraction, and then start fuming about it.

We want ‘zen’ lives… our lives are anything but.

We want peace and quiet… to do our thing (whatever that thing may be), but our life is anything but peaceful and quiet.

We want deep focus but there’s too many things waiting to grab your attention.

If we know it is close to impossible to not be distracted or disturbed, then shouldn’t we actually add that into the equation instead of expecting a perfect situation?

When you calculate keeping the variable in mind at work, we call it a buffer. To allow yourself some leeway to ensure you complete it within a deadline. To not do that, would be creating unnecessary pressure, stress and deadline anxiety.

Similarly, if you don’t account for something that is bound to happen in your life… aka distraction and disturbances - you keep hoping for a perfect time period to do something that may well, never arrive. You have to account for the variable - the fact that you may most probably be disturbed.

This way, you don’t lose your focus or your temper.

This way, you don’t give away power to the distractions.

This way, you start becoming ‘zen’ despite whatever happens.

This way, you start creating peace in your life.

This way, you become stronger in how you deal with life itself.

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In Spirituality, one of the biggest challenges that you face in doing spiritual practices, after overcoming the resistance to do it, is wanting a perfect, distraction free zone to do your inner work.

Spirituality is meant to help you live a better life. But if it can’t exist without distractions and the chaos that life is, then it isn’t really helping is it?

Spirituality is you living your life well. And if your practices require perfect situations, then you are moving into the performing side of spirituality.

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Imagine a life where, you may be mid-practice, and get disturbed… You don’t get frustrated or annoyed or angry, but you handle the distraction and come back to your practice or stop it and go deal with life.

Your response to life is itself spiritual. So you aren’t really breaking your practice, you are making it a part of your life. You go back to it when you can, and at all other times you pay more attention and be more aware in your life. Both ways, you are still practicing and being spiritual.

This is practical spirituality. This is how it becomes a part of your life, and starts enriching not just your life but everyone’s around you.

While I teach advanced aspects of Spirituality, I believe the foundations are important and that foundation is living a more peaceful and joyful life. If you are doing advanced stuff, working in 5D, channeling and healing others and what not - but you get pissed off when disturbed, hmmm. Something to think about, yes?

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I hope today's letter gave you something to think about, something to sit with, something to work on.

• Enjoying these letters? Let me know by dropping a comment or replying to the email!

• Have questions that you would like answers for? Ask away :)

• And as always, if you are a woman feeling called to Eunoia, doors are always open.

• Want to work with me: Get on a free consult!

• Read the previous letters here.

Most often we think that Spirituality means we need to be doing something spiritual.

Like go out of your way to do something that shows you are spiritual. Like close your eyes tight, and hold a meditation pose, performing spirituality. Or using incense, sage and crystals all the time or whatever else shows that you are spiritual.

Almost everything has the performative version. Productivity, religion, art, all form of work, relationships, hobbies, even spirituality.

There is actually being productive vs showing you are productive.

There is actually enjoying your hobbies vs showing you have hobbies.

There is actually doing the work vs showing that you are working.

There is actually being in a relationship vs performing being in a perfect one.

They are not the same.

In the same way, being spiritual and performing spirituality are two different things.

So if you have been looking at social media, at all the content that is performative, and basing your understanding of spirituality on that. Then I hope you think again.

Performing has become the norm on social media. But then isn’t that going to be the case? What you share becomes a part of your image. And therefore, reflects on you. So whether you are performing or not, you still put up a performance. There are very few who actually seem to not perform.

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So what does it actually mean to be spiritual?

There is no one, specific definition of what Spirituality is. There are a 1000 possible definitions, each going in a 1000 different ways. And if what you see online is mostly performative, then how actually do you know what it means to be spiritual.

The answer is…. You don’t. You find that out for yourself.

What I mean is - do not just go by what you see, what you read, what you hear.

Go by your experience - by living it, by finding answers to your questions, by practicing, by sitting with it, by letting life show you.

Because Spirituality is not separate from your life.

You don’t have to go out of your way to be spiritual.

You following what lights you up, is spiritual.

You playing your roles in life, is being spiritual.

You doing what feels right, is being spiritual.

You listening and following the path led by your inner wisdom, is spiritual.

You living the life you were meant to, is spiritual.

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You may have heard or read this - You are a spiritual being having a human existence, or some variation of it.

This is what it means. You living this life is already spiritual. You don’t have to perform spirituality. You don’t have to do anything to be spiritual. You just have to be connected to yourself, to what lights you up, to your inner wisdom, to your body and let that guide you.

And if you need help on doing that, that is when practices, tools, healing modalities, techniques all come into play. Whether it is meditation, shadow work, inner child healing, reiki, yoga, somatic practices, sound healing, chakra healing… there’s a lot going on… they are all just tools to help you on your journey.

None of them are the only solution. No tool is better than the other. No tool is the fix to everything. They all help in their own way.

They are meant to help you live this life fully, and enjoy the experience of being human and do what you are meant to.

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If you have been influenced by performative spirituality, then I hope that going forward you take everything with a grain of salt. Even what I say.

If you are already living a spiritual life, then I would love to hear your definition of spirituality!

If you feel called to live a spiritual life, then just become more aware of everything - your thoughts, your actions, your beliefs, your mindset. And go in the direction you feel called to. You’ll find your path.

If this made something click, pass it on to someone who needs to hear it.

And if you're a woman who wants company on this journey of finding your own path — Eunoia is always open.

I’m not a very regular writer, I used to be one for a few years when I was honing my writing skills. But since I wrote my first book, my writing has definitely slowed down a lot.

And as long as I continued sending my random, sporadic emails, I didn’t think much of it. But I made the switch to Substack this year, which created a new challenge… What do I write about when I am this super irregular writer who writes in phases, in cycles, in seasons but never regularly?

Also, as someone who never liked to stay stuck in anything for too long.. I hate writing about the same thing over & over. I crave variety and well, letting my curiosity take me where I want to go.

So when I can’t stick to a single thing nor can I be regular…. How do I write regularly for an indefinite period of time despite how I feel?

That’s the question I sat with and the answer was… Eunoia.

If there is one constant in my life since I began my journey as a Spiritual Guide, it is Eunoia. It’s been 4+ years since I opened the doors to Eunoia, and they never closed.

Every month, every week, every day… for 1222 days (as of today), Eunoia has been up and running - alive, thriving, growing and evolving along with the souls inside it.

For 175 weeks, I have conducted sessions, barring a few weeks here & there.

For 40 months, I have brought different aspects of spirituality to life inside Eunoia.

And after 1222 days, there’s still novelty, variety and impact.

This made me wonder why did I think I was irregular or couldn’t talk about a single thing?

Eunoia has allowed me to be myself and that made it possible for me to actually be consistent. And now, that I want to start writing on Substack… It is the perfect choice.

Welcome to Eunoia Letters - A taste of Eunoia for those on the outside, An anchor to Spiritual Growth for those who need it, A start for those in the beginning of their spiritual journeys.

So each week, something small arrives… A reflection, a practice, a story, a transmission, a learning. Small but impactful… just enough to shift your perspective, soften something that’s been tight, or remind you of what you already know but forgot to live by.

I am excited to write these weekly letters, which I hope will help you on your spiritual path. And as always, if you’re a woman who would love company on this journey - you are invited to join Eunoia.

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Now for this week’s small thing - We think we are a certain way, but that’s because we are so focused on a certain thing that’s troubling us. But if you look at an aspect in your life where you are thriving, you’ll realize there’s more to you and you may also find the answers you need.

Not every part of life or every problem needs a unique solution when the common denominator is you. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. And if there is a way you are thriving in one aspect of your life… You can apply that to the one that is stuck and needs help.

For Substack or newsletters or emails… I always carried a notion of myself as irregular and can’t stick to one thing. But Eunoia showed me otherwise.

If you look hard enough, you may find the answers you are looking for in what is already good in your life. And when you do, I would really love to hear about it - Comment below or write back.

Welcome once again, to my newsletter or whatever Substack calls this. I hope you are as excited for these letters as me! I’ll see you next week :)

Love,

Reshma

Explore my work here: Reshma Bangarimath

And if you’d like someone else to receive these letters, do share them!

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