Written by: Alisha Eisler, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Creating a spiritual practice can feel daunting especially if spirituality is completely new to you and creating an ethical spiritual practice can seem even more challenging when you're not quite sure where to start. The options are endless.
I've created eight easy ways for you to create a spiritual practice that will not only resonate with you but will also be ethical and help heal generational trauma.
1. Connect with your lineage
Our sense of rootedness is directly connected to our own identity – who we are, where we come from, what our story is, who our ancestors are, and how we show up in the world – all connect to our feelings of belonging.
So creating a spiritual practice that begins with discovering your heritage allows you the opportunity to be fully rooted in your spirituality rather than picking up a random practice from other people and cultures that may not resonate with you and contributes to your misalignment.
Whether you are new or have been practicing for a long time, I invite you to begin with a quest to discover your family heritage so you can fully align with your highest self.
Not only does creating your spiritual practice from a place of heritage help you deepen your connection to self, but it also lessens the chance of appropriation like misusing tools, resources, and sacred items from other cultures and modalities.
2. Explore modalities with an open mind
If you are choosing to explore the modalities of another culture, be mindful of your intentions and be sure to set time aside to educate yourself on the entire practice. Choosing to leave out a certain aspect or practice of another culture contributes to the erasure of that culture. This means you directly contribute to erasing a culture from history.
If you find that you are uncomfortable practicing a modality as it was intended, it may not be the practice for you. Keep exploring.
3. Be open to receiving feedback
If you have a practice that includes another culture's ideals or beliefs, it's important to have the understanding that people from those cultures or even those not from those cultures may give you feedback if it is necessary.
One of the best things you can do when you receive feedback, especially if it's from that community, is to take in that feedback wholeheartedly and adjust your practice immediately.
As a person who may not come from that culture, it can be very easy to misinterpret information that you have learned and then misuse it. Be mindful of how you practice and be open to receiving other forms of education.
4. Share the source of your knowledge & experiences
On your journey to discovering different modalities, you may find yourself wanting to share them with the world. Before doing so, it's really important that you also state where you have received your information with the intent to give credit where it is due.
This is especially important for spiritual leaders & teachers (or anyone holding space) to set expectations for those attending so that they also hold to that culture's truth(s) and do not unintentionally contribute to generational trauma & cause harm.
So be sure to respectfully give acknowledgment.
5. Ask questions
Asking questions is an amazing way to do away with assumptions about a modality or about a practice as long as it's done mindfully.
For example, if you are out and about going to a spiritual store looking for items to incorporate into your practice, ask questions about the item's history, where the item was sourced from, ask about the shop owner (who they are, their reasons for creating a shop) and if they ethically source their merchandise, do they give back to the community they source from…etc. And then decide for yourself if you should purchase from that place or not.
Most shops have an online site; feel free to check there first before asking questions.
6. Understand the intent of the spiritual tool, information, or practice
Having a deep understanding of a spiritual item is going to be essential for everybody's spiritual practice because it not only helps to undo generational trauma but also ensures that you are spiritually connecting in an aligned and ethical way.
A lot of people misuse spiritual tools & resources because they haven't done the research themselves. This is quite dangerous because they could energetically, spiritually, and emotionally be causing harm to themselves, the environment, and to people they come in contact with.
So, do your best to educate yourself!
7. Be mindful of your own biases & privileges
In the world that we live today, we all carry biases. There's not one person in the whole world who doesn't have them. It's important to know that when you are starting something new in your spiritual practice you also actively do work on yourself, so your biases do not negatively affect yourself and those around you.
For example, if you feel uncomfortable performing a certain part of a practice that's something to take note of, and decide for yourself if you're going to partake in that practice again.
I would refrain from choosing to remove the parts of the practice that do not align with you because again it goes back to erasing that culture's history. Also, take note if you have the privilege of opting out.
In addition, pay close attention to any thoughts or emotions that may come up about that culture that may be inaccurate. This alone will say a lot about what you may carry in your mind, body & spirit and whether or not you should be practicing that modality.
8. Support the community
Lastly, it's important to support the community of the modality you practice. Make sure you are putting your time, energy, and physical money into the community that you are learning from rather than contributing to the imbalance of representation and oppression.
This helps to create equity and balance within the world of spirituality and allows space for the elevation and wealth of all of the cultures we celebrate today!
So do your research & support the associations and spiritual leaders that are involved in the community in a very ethical way!
For more tips, join the Empowered Living Group for Socially Conscious Witches, Healers & Spirituals!
Alisha Eisler, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Alisha Eisler who also goes by Ngozi, is a leader in healing generational trauma and an advocate for women's wellness. Having to navigate life in the corporate world as a femme, black, outspoken queer female, Alisha faced many hurdles with equal pay, mental health stability & social equity. She's now dedicated her life to empowering femme presenting people from intersectional backgrounds to heal and self-advocate for their needs and the life they desire. Alisha is also the CEO & Founder of Flourish Ase, a safe haven for mystical folx where she offers 1:1 coaching in her ancestral healing journey "More Than Worthy" and holds group coaching sessions in her "Empowered Femme Initiation" journey.
